The good news is that June 2025 may be a rather significant month for many Social Security Administration (SSA) beneficiaries, as their monthly payments will officially be boosted. The reason why monthly payments will be boosted is due to economic trends as well as legislative changes. For many beneficiaries, these increased checks are way overdue. It is important to keep track of what is changing and to trace the adjustments back to what brought about the change.
What can be expected from June SSA payments?
As per the SSA’s monthly statistical snapshot, June payments will be higher for most beneficiaries due to a record-breaking average milestone and as a result of the Social Security Fairness Act, which has led to adjusted payments for many beneficiaries.
As per the June SSA payment schedule, checks will be distributed as follows:
- June 3: Those who started benefits before May 1997 and SSI recipients
- June 11: Citizens with birthdays between the 1st and 10th
- June 18: Citizens with birthdays between the 11th and 20th
- June 25: Citizens with birthdays between the 21st and 31st
These payment dates apply to traditional retirees as well as those who are receiving recently adjusted benefits. As per always, the SSA recommends that beneficiaries stay in the loop with regard to the payment schedule and that SSA encourages beneficiaries to wait for about 3 days before contacting offices about late payments.
In order to understand why June will be a particularly good month for many SSA beneficiaries, we ought to look at the COLA as well as the Social Security Fairness Act.
Cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) increases average benefits
It is said to be the first time in over 90 years that the average monthly payment for retired workers will surpass the $2,000 mark. As has been revealed by the SSA’s newest data, the average retirement benefit in April this year reached $1,999. This figure will surely be increasing this June.
The increase in the average benefit amount is the result of the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) as well as the long-term wage inflation. COLA has increased the benefit average considerably to help citizens stay financially afloat amidst inflation. Receiving an average Social Security payment of over $2,000 is symbolically significant.
Social Security’s COLA increase will see retirees successfully adjusting to new payment levels while the 2026 COLA stands at 2,3%. The official 2026 COLA will be announced in October. Despite COLA leading to a benefit increase for over 52 million retirees, experts say that these Social Security benefits are still under pressure due to inflation. Inflation in certain areas like housing and healthcare, will disproportionately affect seniors and fully erode their buying power.
Since COLA gets linked to the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W), financial experts argue that the COLA does not actually reflect retirees’ costs. Regardless of this fact, May was already a better month for many retirees due to the COLA increase.
Boosted checks due to the Social Security Fairness Act
Increased payments are also in store for those who were affected by the Social Security Fairness Act, signed into law in January 2025. This legislation saw the elimination of two controversial provisions: the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO). Due to the WEP and GPO, the Social Security benefits for those who received these pensions were either fully eliminated or reduced. Teachers, police officers, and firefighters will no longer see reduced retirement checks.
Since the enactment of the Social Security Fairness Act, 2,8 million retirees have had their benefits restored. Retroactive payments began in February 2025 and have resulted in payments that have steadily increased since April. Those public workers who were previously subjected to WEP or GPO reductions have already started to receive higher benefits, and this June, they will see these boosted checks yet again. There are just 2 rules that those affected by the Social Security Fairness Act need to know.
What all this means is that June 2025 will be filled with joy, not just for breaking record average payments but also for making right the long-standing injustices in how benefits are distributed.
