Social Security is paying out benefits tomorrow, Feb. 3: here’s who qualifies
This week, the Social Security Administration is scheduled to issue payments that benefit two groups of recipients in the U.S.
In the U.S., certain Social Security recipients are to receive their February benefits tomorrow: Tuesday, Feb. 3.
This payment date covers two groups of recipients who claim one of the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) retirement, disability or survivor benefits.
Who’s receiving a payment from Social Security on Feb. 3?
- Certain long-term beneficiaries
The SSA is to issue payments to some long-standing recipients of retirement, disability or survivor pay: specifically, those who have been collecting any of these benefits since before May 1997.
- Beneficiaries who also get SSI
Feb. 3 is also your payment date for retirement, disability or survivor benefits if you combine any of these schemes with Supplemental Security Income (SSI) - a program for low-income, low-resource people who are over 65 or have a disability.
February’s SSI money, meanwhile, was scheduled to be paid out on Friday, Jan. 30.
How much is paid to retirement, disability and survivor beneficiaries?
As of December 2025 - the most recent monthly figures published by the SSA - retired workers received $2,071.30 a month on average. Disabled workers were paid a monthly average of $1,633.19, and beneficiaries of survivor payments got an average of $1,620.95 per month.
From January, however, benefit amounts were to increase by 2.8%, as part of the SSA’s annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA). For recipients of retirement benefits - who account for most Social Security beneficiaries - this translates into an average monthly increase of $56, the SSA has said.
When are other Social Security recipients paid for February?
If not among those paid on Feb. 3, recipients of retirement, disability or survivor benefits are to get their money on the second, third or fourth Wednesday in February.
A beneficiary’s designated Wednesday depends on the date of birth of the worker whose Social Security taxes have accumulated the benefits entitlement:
- Born on 1st to 10th of month: Weds., Feb. 11
- Born on 11th to 20th of month: Weds., Feb. 18
- Born on 21st to31st of month: Weds., Feb. 25
You can check out the SSA’s complete schedule of payments for 2026 on this online calendar.
How does the shutdown affect Social Security payments?
After Congress missed Friday’s midnight deadline to pass a spending package that affects several federal agencies - including the SSA - the U.S. government has entered a partial shutdown. The legislation passed the Senate on Friday, but has to be approved by the House of Representatives, which was not due to convene until Monday.
House speaker Mike Johnson has talked of a “short shutdown situation” - but even if the funding gap drags on, Social Security beneficiaries can expect to carry on receiving their monthly payments as normal. Benefits are paid for by what’s known as ‘mandatory’ funding - money that does not depend on periodic congressional appropriations.
In a contingency plan published in September, before last fall’s 43-day stoppage, the agency stressed its commitment to uninterrupted benefits, pledging to “continue activities critical to [...] ensure accurate and timely payment“.
How does Social Security make benefits payments?
The SSA says it is “in most cases” no longer issuing benefits as paper checks. Instead, the agency offers beneficiaries two ways of receiving payments electronically:
- Direct deposit
By supplying the SSA with their bank details, beneficiaries can be paid by direct deposit. Recipients of retirement, disability and survivor benefits can provide their bank-account info online, using the agency’s “my Social Security” portal.
- Direct Express
Beneficiaries can also have their payments paid onto the Direct Express Card, a special debit card for federal disbursements to people without a bank account. You can sign up for the card at 1-800-333-1795 or on the Direct Express website.
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