Additional Security Income: How much more money will you get next year with the COLA increase?

The Social Security Administration announced the 2025 COLA increase earlier this month, and recipients will receive their COLA notices in December with specific details about their benefits. The COLA, or cost of living adjustment, is an annual change in monthly benefit payments for Social Security and Supplemental Security Income recipients to counteract the effects of inflation.

For those receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI), the maximum monthly payment amounts have been increased for 2025. Below, we’ll dive into the details and find out how much more you can expect when the COLA goes into effect in January 2025.

For more information, see: Check Your Eligibility and Apply for Supplemental Security Income.

What is the COLA increase for 2025?

The Social Security Administration announced that the COLA increase for 2025 is 2.5% – a decrease from 3.2% in 2024 and much smaller than the 8.7% increase in 2023. This slight increase was reported by experts, who monitored inflation trends, predicted it back in March this year. For the average Social Security recipient, this means a $48 increase in their monthly checks.

Here are the new monthly SSI maximums for 2025

Monthly SSI payment amounts are calculated by increasing the unrounded annual amounts for the current year by the COLA, which officially takes effect the following January. However, the first monthly benefit payment for SSI recipients for 2025 will be on December 31, 2024.

Below are the new monthly highs for 2025.

SSI peaks 2024 vs. 2025

Recipient	2024 maximum	2025 maximum	Increase compared to the previous year
person	$943	$967	$24
Couple	$1,415	$1,450	$35
Essential person	$472	$484	$12

Don’t forget about possible federal SSI benefits

In addition to the federal program, most states offer additional SSI benefits to eligible recipients. Like federal SSI benefits, additional state benefits are determined by several factors, such as income and living circumstances.

Depending on where you live, the supplemental benefit may be administered by the Social Security Administration, the state, or both, known as dual administration. In dual administration states, Social Security administers some categories of supplemental payments while the state administers payments for other categories.

For more information, see the SSDI payment plan and how to apply for Social Security benefits.