Senior citizens advocacy group calls for changes after low cost-of-living adjustment announced

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Advocacy groups are upset after the Social Security Administration announced a 2.5% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for Social Security recipients in 2025.

Compared to 3.2% last year and 8.7% a year before that, this year’s cost-of-living increase is considerably lower than the adjustment in recent years.

“A lower COLA such as the one this year, 2.5% is quite literally just better than nothing,” said Shannon Benton, Executive Director of The Senior Citizens League, a group that advocates for older Americans.

Starting in January, recipients will receive an additional $50 a month on average. Benton says that won’t be enough to help seniors make ends meet.

“Persistent high costs are really presenting a significant challenge for senior citizens who are on fixed incomes and it really highlights the need for legislative measures to ensure that Social Security benefits are keeping up with inflation,” Benton told 8News.

Benton says part of the problem is that the government uses data based on the rising cost of goods for “urban wage earners and clerical workers” to measure inflation.

“To us at the Senior Citizens League, it makes no sense, because it’s applying towards the elderly, and their costs and spending habits are significantly different than Urban Wage Earners and clerical workers,” Benton said.

Benton said it would make more sense for the government to use inflation data based on senior citizens, which would include costs that are specific to seniors such as health insurance.

“When seniors are out there looking for their Medicare or supplemental insurance, they are really bearing the brunt of the increases in [cost],” said Benton.

The Social Security Administration says recipients will be notified of the change to their benefits in December.

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