Good news for Social Security retirees in 2025: they will collect their first check with COLA increase on this date in 2024
Due to how the Social Security Administration schedules payments to beneficiaries, some will receive theirs with the 2025 COLA increase in December.
Every month the Social Security Administration sends out millions of payments to beneficiaries. These payments go to retired workers, their spouses and survivors, as well as disabled workers and their family members. Additionally, adults and children with disabilities may be eligible for Supplemental Security Income (SSI).
In order to handle the immense number of monthly payments SSA pays different groups of beneficiaries on specific days or dates each month. Because of that, there are some months when the date of disbursement for certain groups of beneficiaries, gets altered from the normal schedule.
This will affect two groups in particular in December, one of which, those who receive SSI benefits, will see their checks with the 2025 COLA increased applied to them.
Good news for Social Security retirees in 2025: they will collect their first check with COLA increase on this date in 2024
Beneficiaries who normally receive their payments on the fourth Wednesday of the month will get theirs on December 24 instead of the 25th, which is a holiday, Christmas Day. The amount should still be the same as previous months in 2024.
On the other hand, SSI beneficiaries received their payment that corresponded to Decemeber at the end of November. That was because the first of the month fell on a weekend. And since the first of January is a holiday, that payment too will be moved forward.
Meaning the payment that SSI beneficiaries will receive on December 31 will be the one that corresponds to January 2025, the month that the 2025 COLA will be applied.
When are Social Security payments distributed?
Regardless of the category to which the recipient belongs, payments are made on a monthly basis. The exact date of distribution is linked to the beneficiaries’ date of birth. People born between the 1st and 10th receive the money on the second Wednesday of the month. Those born between the 11th and 20th receive it on the third Wednesday, and those born between the 21st and 31st receive it on the fourth.
SSI beneficiaries and workers who retired before May 1997 are not covered by the above scheme, since they receive their money at the beginning of the month, regardless of their date of birth.
If the payment date falls on a weekend or holiday, the check is advanced to the previous business day. Therefore, some beneficiaries may sometimes receive a double payment in one month.
Increase in Social Security payments
The Social Security Administration increases payments each year to adjust the amount of the checks to current inflation, with the goal of avoiding purchasing power reduction when prices rise. This increase is known as the Cost-of-Living Adjustment or COLA.
The increase for the year 2024 was pegged at 3.2%, while the 2025 adjustment announced in October, will be 2.5% and applied to payments made for January 2025, and the rest of the calendar year.
In 2025, the average monthly payment for a retiree is $1,976. For couples filing jointly, the figure rises to $3,089 per month. For SSI recipients, the maximum payment is $967 per month for individuals and $1,450 for couples.
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