Social Security payment dates in December: When will you get your checks?
The huge distribution effort will comprise of a series of payments across the month, based on the recipient’s date of birth.
About 65 million Americans receive Social Security benefits every month, making it the most widely-available form of federal financial support. With such an extensive distribution effort needed, the Social Security Administration sends out its monthly checks in three waves of payment.
The Social Security payments are sent out on the second, third and fourth Wednesday of every month. Here’s when you can expect to receive your Social Security payment in December:
- If your birthday is between the 1st and 10th of the month, you will receive your payment on the second Wednesday of the month (14 December)
- If your birthday falls between the 11th and 20th of the month, you will receive your payment on the third Wednesday of the month (21 December)
- If your birthday falls between the 21st and 31st of the month, you will receive your payment on the fourth Wednesday of the month (28 December)
Other SSA payments distributed in December
The Social Security Administration (SSA) also oversees some other support programs with their own payment schedules. Payments for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) should have been distributed on Thursday, 1 December, while those who get both SSI and Social Security should start getting their payments from Friday, 2 December.
Bear in mind, however, that those dates refer to the day on which the payment was made. It make take a few days for it to arrive in your bank account.
For recipients of SSI there will be another payment arriving in December, but it’s not a Christmas present. The first day in January falls on a Sunday, so the usual SSI payment is being brought forward by two days.
The SSI payment for January 2023 will be distributed on Friday, 30 December.
What to do if you haven’t received your SS check on the expected date?
According to the Social Security Administration, if you don’t receive your check on the date listed above, make sure to wait three additional ‘mailing days’ before contacting them. If after that you still don’t receive it, you can call 800-772-1213 and speak with a representative who can help you.
The best times to call are Wednesday through Friday as well as later in the day, between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. local time as wait times are shorter. Additionally, you can check for your personal payment schedule on your Social Security online account.