if you've been feeling the pinch at the grocery store the gas pump and every time you pay your bills well there is more sobering news on the horizon for those of us who are depending on Social Security in 2025 Social Security benefits they're expected to see a poultry increase one that probably won't even keep up with the rising cost there were all facing in this video I'm going to tell you how this could affect your monthly budget in ways that you didn't and haven't anticipated that's all up next right here on over 50 TV welcome back to over 50 TV my name is Lou Reyes and today I'm going to be diving into a troubling projection for 2025 Social Security benefits are expected to see a disappointing increase an increase that likely won't keep Pace with the rising costs that we're all facing but before I get into that I do want to personally invite you to something that I think is really exciting the power of 50 career Summit now whether you're thinking about a career change or maybe you're looking to pick up some new skills maybe you need to pick up some side income or you can be curious about starting a side hustle well this event the power of 50 career Summit it's for you it's happening on Saturday September 28th from 900 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. right here in my hometown of Cleveland Ohio but I don't want you to worry if you're somebody who says hey I can't make it I can't get to Cleveland well don't worry because we're streaming the whole thing live on the over 50 TV YouTube channel so you can join us from virtually anywhere if you're interested in getting all the latest details just check out the link in the description box to join our mailing list so now let me tell you what you need to know about the 2025 Social Security Cola Social Security's cost of living adjustment or Cola as it is known is supposed to help us keep up with inflation but the latest estimates suggest that the increase we'll see in 2025 might be one of the smallest in recent years now according to a new estimate from the senior citizens League the ca the cola for 2025 is expected to be just 2.57% now to put that into perspective this is down from the 3.2% increase we saw in 2024 and it's even lower than the 2.63% increase that was projected just a few months ago in July now let me break that down for you a 2.57% increase it may sound okay on paper but but let's be real it's barely keeping up with the average Cola increase of 2.6% over the past 20 years and let me repeat that this new increase this projected new increase is barely it's barely keeping up with the average Cola increase of 2.6% over the past 20 years and with inflation still chipping away at our purchasing power many seniors are feeling the strain in fact the senior citizens League reports that 78% of seniors 78% the majority the vast majority of seniors say their monthly budgets for Essentials like food like housing and Medicine have shot up since last year and it doesn't stop there 63% of seniors are worried that their retirement income just won't be enough to cover the rising cost of these Essentials so why why the decrease in the cola estimate well Cola is tied to the overall rate of inflation and the Consumer Price Index which is the key measure of inflation showed a slight drop from 3% in June to 2.9% in July now while any drop in inflation it it may sound good but it also means that the co which is based on these figures will be smaller but as we all know just because inflation numbers are down that doesn't mean our day-to-day costs are dropping it's no surprise then that many seniors are concerned the costs for Essentials they keep Rising but the money that we depend on isn't keeping pace and while the official Cola announcement won't be made until October by the by the Social Security Administration the outlook's pretty clear 2025 is increase won't go as far as we needed to go so what can we do well it's more important than ever to stay informed to budget wisely and to explore all of our available options and that's another reason why we decided to launch the power of 50 career Summit we want to tell you about more options more options that we believe can help you because here at over50 TV we're committed we're committed I'm committed to bringing you the latest updates to give you some practical tips and to help you navigate navigate these challenging times well that's all I got for you today hate to give you that that news uh some of you probably already anticipated it I'm I'm sure that that you did but as I say what we've got to do is just got to stay informed got to stay informed and we got to plan plan ahead so listen that's all I got for you as I said if you do have any questions please feel free to send me an email or maybe you make a comment in the comment box of this video also if you are inclined subscribe to over50 TV for all the latest uh tips and as I mentioned we'll give you practical tips and we'll tell you about things that are on the horizon stuff that we think can help you out so it's all I got for you as I always say have a great day everybody [Applause]