But the truth is that your monthly benefit is never truly locked in, because each year, Social Security recipients are eligible for an automatic cost-of-living adjustment (COLA).

Seniors awaiting bigger Social Security checks next year may be shocked to discover higher Medicare premiums will eat up a chunk of their cost-of-living adjustment.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the 2025 inflation-adjusted amounts for Medicare Parts A, B, and D. The base monthly premium for Part B will be $185.00, an increase of $10.

But a 2.5% COLA for 2025 stings because it's the smallest one to arrive in years. At the start of 2024, seniors on Social Security saw their benefits increase by 3.2%. And the year prior, Social Security recipients got a record-breaking 8.7% COLA. So a raise of just 2.5% seems awfully meager by comparison.