Technically, the Social Security Administration will apply the 2025 COLA to your December 2024 payment. But since you receive Social Security checks in the month after the month they're due, you won't get your first payment with the COLA until January 2025. The exact date depends on the day of the month you were born, as follows:

Another set of numbers that often changes regarding Social Security relates to its long-term health. Per the 2024 Annual Report of the Board of Trustees of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance and Disability Insurance trust fund, "reserves will be depleted in 2035." That's a year later than the previous estimate, which is good news.

We're about two weeks away from the official COLA announcement from the Social Security Administration. Here's what the experts think it could be.