Each month, the Social Security Administration (SSA) distributes millions of payments to individuals who rely on them for vital financial support. Most recipients are retirees, and for many, these payments represent their primary—if not sole—source of income. Because of this, the SSA adheres to a consistent payment schedule to help beneficiaries manage their budgets. That said, recipients are being reminded that the next round of payments won’t arrive until July.
How the SSA payment schedule works
Beneficiaries of SSA receive staggered payments depending on what their birthdate is, when they started to claim benefits, and whether or not they receive retirement, Disability, or Supplementary Security Income (SSI). The set schedule SSA distributes retirement and Disability payments each month according to these parameters is as follows:
- Wednesday, April 9: Birth dates between the first and 10th of the month.
- Wednesday, April 16: Birth dates between the 11th and the 20th of the month.
- Wednesday, April 23: Birth dates between the 21st and the 31st of the month
However, if you claimed your benefits before May 1997, or if you receive both retirement and SSI benefits, these dates do not apply to you. Instead, your payments are released on the third of each month. If you only receive SSI payments, these are paid out on the first of each month. However, slight deviations from this schedule are in store for beneficiaries this month.
No payments until July for this group
According to the Social Security payment schedule, when payment dates fall on weekends or public holidays, the payment is advanced. This month, June 1 fell on a Sunday. This means that SSI beneficiaries would have received their scheduled June 1 payment early, meaning that they effectively were paid twice in May. However, this does not mean that beneficiaries received an additional payment; the SSA policy on getting two SSI payments in a month is merely a reflection of the June payment coming in early. The next time SSI beneficiaries will be paid will be July 1.
This is also the case for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. This department oversees the benefits veterans receive as compensation for service-related conditions. Usually, their payments are received on the first of each month. However, similar to SSI beneficiaries, they also would have received two payments in May on account of June 1 falling on a Sunday. Their next payment will also be July 1.
While the payments remain equally distributed despite the advance, it can sometimes be confusing for beneficiaries to receive payments early. It is important to bear in mind that the alternative to an early advance would be a late advance for beneficiaries. Receiving your payment early, while a deviation from the regular schedule, is the best alternative when it comes to bypassing the problem of weekends and holidays.
Changes for SSA are coming this year
The deviated payment schedule for this month is but a minor change compared to the major internal changes happening within the SSA. Not only have the number of employees been reduced from 57,000 to 50,000, but questions about the long-term solvency of the fund remain unanswered. The fund is expected to be depleted by the early 2030s, meaning that unless action is taken now, beneficiaries’ payments will be reduced.
The prevailing solution to the insolvency problem has been to either increase Social Security taxes or reduce benefits now. However, President Trump has stated that he intends to follow neither of these suggestions. However, it is becoming critical that the insolvency problem be addressed, as the number of retirees is outpacing the amount of money being put into the fund. An alternative solution has yet to be announced by the federal government for the plan going forward.