Can you change the day you receive your Social Security payments?
The SSA spreads payments to different beneficiaries throughout each month. However, what can beneficiaries do if they want to change their payment date?
The Social Security Administration issues payments to tens of millions of beneficiaries each month. They include retired workers, by far the largest group, and their survivors; that is, to the children, spouses, widows, widowers or parents of a deceased beneficiary, as well as disabled workers.
The agency also sends Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments to seniors, as well as people with disabilities or blindness, including children that meet certain income and resource requirements.
In order to manage effectively all the different payments and send them in a timely fashion, the Social Security Administration schedules payments on specific days each month depending on the type of benefit, date of birth or when the recipient began claiming payments.
You may also be interested in: The complete Social Security payment schedule for 2024
Can you change the day you receive your Social Security payments?
While the Social Security Handbook webpage for payment dates states that those beneficiaries that receive their benefits on the third of the month “can volunteer to change your payment day as long as all beneficiaries receiving benefits on your record agree,” the more recently updated Frequently Asked Questions page says you cannot change your payment date.
What is the Social Security benefits payment monthly schedule?
Social Security benefit payments are typically spread across five days each month. SSI payments are scheduled by the SSA to be sent out on the first day of each month. However, recipients who receive both SSI and Social Security benefits will receive their payment on the third of each month along with those who started receiving payments before May 1997.
Should the first and/or third fall on a holiday, a Saturday or a Sunday, the payment will be moved forward to the nearest business day proceeding the scheduled payment date.
Payments to the rest of beneficiaries are issued on the second, third or fourth Wednesday of each month. Which Wednesday applies to you is determined by date of birth. Below is the schedule according to the Social Security Administration.
- Those born between the 1st and the 10th receive payments on the second Wednesday of the month;
- those born between the 11th and the 20th recieve payments on the third Wednesday; and
- those born between the 21th to the 31st recieve payments on the fourth Wednesday.
How are Social Security payments sent?
Payments are sent via direct deposit to those who have provided a bank account to the Social Security Administration, which is now federally mandated since 2013. Less than one percent still receive their payment as a paper check via postal mail, which may take additional days to arrive.
The Social Security Administration recommends that those who still receive their benefits in the mail sign up for direct deposit either at their local office or using my Social Security account.
According to the SSA, if you don’t receive your payment when you expect it, wait three days to give allowance for additional shipping needs before contacting Social Security.