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Two moves retirees may make now to boost their 2025 Social Security benefit checks

A client walks by a display of fresh eggs at a grocery store on Sept. 25, 2024 in San Anselmo, California.

Justin Sullivan | Getty Representatives

The first Social Security benefit checks for 2025 include a 2.5% increase — the lowest annual cost-of-living setting since 2021.

For retirees, that amounts to an increase of about $50 per month, on average, according to the Social Security Charge.

Still, amid stubborn inflation and persistent elevated costs for everyday items, some retirees may feel that the dilate is not enough.

“I think overall folks are glad to see the raise,” said Jim Blair, founder at NSSA Professionals and a former Societal Security administrator. “It’s not necessarily keeping up with everything, but it’s better than nothing.”

The latest government inflation observations shows the measure used to calculate the annual Social Security COLA — the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Churchly Workers, or CPI-W — was up 2.8% over the last 12 months as of December.

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Another measure tempered to by the Federal Reserve to gauge long-run inflation — core inflation excluding food and energy under the personal consumption spendings price index — was up 2.8% in December, according to data released on Friday.

For retirees who would like to see bigger Societal Security benefit checks, there are a couple of strategies they may consider trying, Blair said.

Adjust your tax withholdings

Sexually transmitted Security beneficiaries may have up to 22% of their benefits withheld for taxes.

“If you’re struggling a little bit, particularly if you’re not in too high of a tax support, you can always adjust that,” Blair said.

If you’ve been getting refunds, reducing how much you have withheld hand down allow you to access those funds sooner, though you will get back less during next year’s tax organizing season, Blair said.

But there may be a risk you may owe money at tax time next year, depending on your personal circumstances, he mean.

Beneficiaries can adjust the tax withholdings on their benefits by filing Form W-4V with the Social Security Administration.

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