Last month, the Social Security Administration announced that beneficiaries will receive a 2.5% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) in 2025. That revelation disappointed many Social Security recipients.

The idea of depending entirely on Social Security doesn't sit well with me. That's why I'm taking control now by building retirement accounts.

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.

Gen Xers say they are worried they may not receive their benefits at retirement age if Social Security funds are depleted.

USA TODAY reached out to retirees across the country who are living mostly on Social Security, to ask how they were doing.

Social Security's cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) isn't the only notable change to America's top retirement program in 2025.

Since 2002, national pollster Gallup has surveyed retirees on an annual basis to gauge how reliant they are on their Social Security income. During this 23-year stretch, 80% to 90% of respondents, including 88% in the latest survey released in April 2024,

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).