Social Security beneficiaries may face taxes if they have additional income sources or due to the COLA increase. Here's how to determine if you're affected.

Here are three significant Social Security changes for 2025. One of the best things about Social Security is that it has a built-in inflation-protection feature, via nearly annual cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs). The increase for 2025, effective in December 2024, was just 2.5% -- not far from average, but well below some recent COLAs.

The Senior Citizens League (TSCL), a nonpartisan senior group, recently released their monthly COLA estimate, predicting that it would moderate to 2.1% in 2026.

Social Security’s cost-of-living adjustment is expected to shrink in 2026 and could be the lowest increase seen in a decade.

Massachusetts teachers and other public sector employees who qualify for Social Security benefits through covered work will receive a higher benefit once the new rules go into effect.

In a survey of 2,000 retirees, more than half said that the 2.5% COLA that just went into effect is insufficient. More than 80% say that the COLA won’t help them pay for living expenses. Inflation has been a major issue for retirees in recent years.

This big adjustment that will hit the Social Security program in 2025 will impact Medicare and the amount that beneficiaries receive.

Key Points Social Security benefits got a 2.5% COLA in 2025. That raise is already trailing inflation. If you’re struggling, it may be time to rethink your spending, downsize, relocate, or go back to work.