Will my Social Security benefit at 70 include the 2025 COLA increase?
I'm turning 70 in March 2025 and planning to claim my SS benefits then for the maximum amount. Looking at my SSA statement online, I see my estimated benefit at 70, but I'm confused about something. Does this estimate already factor in the 2.5% COLA increase for 2025? Or will my actual benefit be 2.5% higher than what's shown on my statement? The difference would be significant for my retirement budget planning. I've tried calling SSA twice but got disconnected both times after waiting over an hour.
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Dylan Cooper
The benefit estimates on your Social Security statement do NOT include future COLA increases. The estimate shows your benefit in today's dollars based on your earnings so far. When you actually start receiving benefits in March 2025, your payment will include any COLA adjustments that occurred between now and then, including the 2025 COLA (assuming you're correct about it being 2.5%).
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Fatima Al-Qasimi
•Thank you! That's exactly what I needed to know. So I should add roughly 2.5% to the estimated amount for my actual 2025 budget. That's a relief since I was counting on that extra amount.
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Sofia Ramirez
i think the ssa website updates the amounts when they do the cola increases each year. my mom's estimated benefit changed last january when the new cola kicked in
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Dylan Cooper
•That's not quite right. The SSA updates benefit amounts for people ALREADY receiving benefits when COLA kicks in. But for future benefit estimates (like for someone turning 70 in 2025), they show current dollar values without projecting future COLAs. The statement actually says this in the fine print!
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Dmitry Volkov
If you want to get a definitive answer directly from SSA rather than guessing, try using Claimyr (claimyr.com). I was in a similar situation last month with questions about my benefits that I couldn't get answered because of the endless phone waits. Claimyr got me through to an actual SSA agent in about 20 minutes instead of waiting for hours. There's a video that shows how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU
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Fatima Al-Qasimi
•I hadn't heard of this service before. I'll check it out if I need to call them again. Those long hold times are brutal, especially when you get disconnected after waiting!
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StarSeeker
•Does it actually work? Sounds too good to be true with how impossible it is to reach SSA these days.
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Dmitry Volkov
•It definitely worked for me. The agent I spoke with confirmed exactly what the first commenter said - that statement estimates don't include future COLAs. But they also helped me understand some other aspects of my particular situation.
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Ava Martinez
My understanding is that NO ONE knows what the 2025 COLA will actually be yet! It's determined based on the CPI-W from the third quarter of 2024. So I think you're jumping the gun assuming it's 2.5%. Could be more, could be less.
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Fatima Al-Qasimi
•Good point! I was using 2.5% based on what my financial advisor projected, but you're right that it's not official yet. I should probably create a flexible budget with different scenarios.
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Miguel Ortiz
Your statement benefit amount does NOT include future COLAs. I work with retirees on benefits planning, and this is a common source of confusion. The SSA statement explicitly notes that estimates are in "today's dollars" and don't attempt to predict future COLA increases. Also, remember that when you file in March 2025, your first payment will arrive in April 2025 (SS pays a month behind). And since you were born in March, your benefit amount will be for someone who is 70 years and 0 months - you don't get any additional increases after reaching 70.
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Zainab Omar
•THIS IS WHY SOCIAL SECURITY IS SO FRUSTRATING!!! Why can't they just make the statements CLEAR about what includes COLA and what doesn't?? I spent HOURS trying to figure this out when I retired last year. The SSA website is terrible and their phone system is even worse! They need to update their technology from the 1980s!!!
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Miguel Ortiz
•I agree the SSA could make this clearer. The information is technically there in the fine print of the statement, but most people don't notice it. And you're right about their technology - the system is handling far more people than it was designed for.
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StarSeeker
just wanted to say congrats on waiting till 70 to claim! my dad claimed at 62 and regrets it so much now. he coulda had almost 80% more each month if he'd waited like you're doing
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Fatima Al-Qasimi
•Thanks! It wasn't easy to wait, but I'm fortunate to have other retirement savings I could use. Everyone's situation is different though - sometimes claiming early is the right move depending on health, work situation, and other factors.
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Sofia Ramirez
im confused about something else... if I was born in 1965 is my full retirement age still 67? i heard they might be changing it?
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Miguel Ortiz
•Yes, if you were born in 1965, your Full Retirement Age (FRA) is 67. The FRA is 67 for everyone born in 1960 or later. There have been discussions about potentially changing this for future generations, but any changes would require new legislation from Congress, and nothing has been enacted yet. Your FRA of 67 is set under current law.
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