For a majority of Americans, Social Security income is an absolute necessity during retirement. In each of the last 23 years, national pollster Gallup has surveyed retirees to gauge how reliant they are on their Social Security check.

Below are the latest expert predictions for what the 2025 COLA could be as of September 2024. For more, don't miss how to apply for Supplemental Security Income and how to estimate how much in Social Security benefits you could receive .

Oct. 10 is when September's CPI-W reading is scheduled to be released. Once that happens, the SSA should be able to announce a number of key changes to the program for 2025, including not just an official COLA, but a new earnings-test limit and wage cap.

The inflation data for August gives us a pretty good idea about the likely magnitude of Social Security’s cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for 2025. This automatic indexing of benefits to keep up with rising prices — always a wonderful feature of our Social Security program — has been particularly valuable in light of the recent bout of inflation.

Social Security recipients received a 3.2% adjustment. The average retired worker benefit lands at roughly $1,900 per month, so that amounts to a raise of just over $60 p

That number isn't set in stone, and a lower COLA could translate to lower costs for everyday expenses. There's still time for that number to improve. Even if it doesn't, things may not be so bad. Millions of older Americans rely on their monthly Social Security benefits to make ends meet.