Map Shows States Where Retirees Will Get the Biggest Social Security Boost

In 2025, some states will see higher Social Security increases than others.
Every year, the Social Security Administration updates its benefit amounts based on the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA).
The COLA takes into account inflation on a wide range of items and is meant to help seniors maintain their purchasing power even as prices on goods and services increase. Next year’s COLA is set to be announced in October.
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Earlier this week, The Senior Citizens League predicted the payments would rise by a 2.6 percent COLA next year. This would be the lowest increase for beneficiaries since 2021.
However, not all states see the same types of increases on monthly benefits.
Due to how Social Security is calculated, some retirees in certain states would see higher increases than others. Your specific benefit amount will vary based on your lifetime income and when you start claiming Social Security.
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The higher your income and the later you wait to claim, the more money you’ll see in monthly payments.
Because of these factors, some states would see higher Social Security benefits than others, according to a recent Motley Fool analysis. This is because some states see far higher median incomes than others, in turn producing higher Social Security amounts, based on the COLA.
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The analysis found these states had the highest median monthly Social Security checks:
“The reason for some states seeing higher Social Security increases is more simple than some may think,” Alex Beene, financial literacy instructor for the University of Tennessee at Martin, told Newsweek.
“It doesn’t come down to any type of complicated calculation in distribution of benefits, but simply through the fact that these states tend to have higher median incomes than the national average, and those incomes are reflected in the eventual Social Security benefits recipients receive.”
Social Security beneficiaries in these states are set to receive the biggest COLA increases because their current monthly payment amount is higher on average.
In New Jersey, the median retiree will see an extra $54.60 in their Social Security check if current COLA estimates prove accurate. In Massachusetts, that uptick would be $50.60.
The states listed above tended to have higher incomes on average, with New Jersey, New Hampshire, Maryland, Washington and Massachusetts ranking in the top 10.
The full story of why the locales will see higher COLA boosts is a bit more complicated than just income, however. Some other higher-earning retirees choose to retire in the same areas as well.
California and Washington, D.C., for example, see some of the highest incomes but lowest median Social Security benefits due to their retirees moving elsewhere, The Motley Fool said.
Those who do not live in the top 10 states can still expect a notable increase to their benefits, though, as the COLA goes into effect for retirees regardless of where they live.
“Even if your state didn’t crack the top 10, though, you should still see a decent bump in your Social Security payments in the coming year to help you deal with inflated prices,” Beene said.