Up to $5,100 in Social Security payments in time for Christmas? Find out who’s receiving a check
In the coming days, the Social Security Administration is due to begin sending out benefits payments for December 2025.
All recipients of Social Security benefits are due to get their December 2025 payments before Christmas - but the U.S.’s Social Security Administration (SSA) will be cutting it fine with one group of beneficiaries.
Of the SSA’s five scheduled distribution dates for next month’s benefits, the final one falls on Christmas Eve.
Who claims Social Security benefits in the U.S.?
Each month, the SSA distributes benefits checks to nearly 75 million Americans - chiefly retired workers, who account for over 70% of that number.
In addition to sending out retirement benefits, the agency also issues disability checks to around eight million qualifying Americans, as well as survivor pay claimed by nearly six million family members of deceased workers.
What’s more, around 7.4 million people in the U.S. receive the SSA’s Supplemental Security Income (SSI) - a program for low-income individuals who are over 65 or have a disability.
Unlike retirement, disability and survivor benefits, SSI is not contribution-based: it is not dependent on claimants’ payment of Social Security taxes.
When are Social Security payments in December 2025?
Most recipients of retirement, disability and survivor benefits will get their money on the second, third or fourth Wednesday in December: the 10th, 17th or 24th. A recipient’s payment date depends on what day their birthday falls on*:
- If born on 1st-10th of the month: Weds., Dec. 10
- If born on 11th-20th of the month: Weds., Dec. 17
- If born on 21st-31st of the month: Weds., Dec. 24
*If you claim benefits based on someone else’s work history, the SSA uses the birthday of the worker whose Social Security taxes accumulated the entitlement.
Who isn’t paid on the 10th, 17th or 24th?
In December, there will also be two further payment dates that do not depend on a recipient’s birthday:
- Mon., Dec. 1: SSI beneficiaries
SSI beneficiaries always receive their checks on the first day of each month, unless this falls on a weekend or a federal holiday.
- Weds., Dec. 3: Long-term/dual beneficiaries
If you began claiming retirement, disability of survivor benefits before May 1997, you get your money on the third of each month, as long as it is a regular business day.
Meanwhile, around 2.5 million Americans claim both SSI and retirement/disability/survivor benefits: they get the former on Dec. 1 and the latter on Dec. 3.
You can check out the SSA’s payment calendar in full here.
How much are Social Security retirement benefits?
Retirement benefits, which can also be paid out to the spouses and children of retired workers, are worth an average of $1,995.48 per month, according to the most recent figures shared by the SSA. The maximum possible monthly retirement check currently stands at $5,108.
Disabled workers are paid an average of $1,582.95 a month, while beneficiaries of survivor checks receive $1,575.30 per month on average. Recipients of SSI benefits are paid a monthly average of $717.84.
Two SSI checks in December
After receiving their monthly benefits for December on Monday 1, SSI recipients are also due to get a payment on Wednesday, December 31. This second check represents their benefits for January 2026, which are to go out a day early as New Year’s Day is a holiday.
This January payment will be the first to include the SSA’s cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for 2026. In October, the agency announced that its benefits recipients are to get a 2.8% increase in their monthly payments next year.
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