FINANCE
Why didn’t some people get a Social Security check in April?
The Social Security Administration sends out monthly payments to nearly 71 million beneficiaries each month, but in April one group did not receive one.
Due to the nature of issuing so many payments, the Social Security Administration (SSA) spreads out when they are sent depending on date of birth, type of benefit and when a recipient first signed up for Social Security.
According to the payments schedule, Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is issued on the first of each month, but not always. It wasn’t a matter of April Fool’s, but because 1 April fell on a Saturday this year payments were issued a day early.
During the remainder of 2023 the same will happen two more times; payments in July and October will be pushed up to the month before to June and September respectively. Likewise, the first SSI payments of the following year are moved forward to the end of December. Those payments are the first to reflect the cost-of-living adjustments the SSA implements by law annually.
What is the amount of Social Security payments in May?
The Social Security Administration pays benefits to retired and disabled workers as well as their survivors. The amount that each beneficiary receives depends on several factors including when the worker began claiming Social Security and what their Primary Insurance Amount among others. The average monthly Social Security payment in January 2023 was $1,961 across all types of benefits according to agency data.
Supplemental Security Income is specifically targeted at adults and children with a disability and who have income and resources below certain thresholds. The support is also available for those aged 65 and over whose financial means place them below the thresholds.
As of January 2023, the average payment was $677 across all beneficiaries of Supplemental Security Income. The maximum amount was increased in 2023 to $914 for individuals and $1,371 for couples.
Average Social Security payments by benefit type
- Retirement benefits (Social Security)
- Retired workers: $1,830.66
- Spouses of retired workers: $899.20
- Children of retired workers: $858.79
- Survivor benefits (Social Security)
- Children of deceased workers: $1,069.48
- Widowed mothers and fathers: $1,218.60
- Nondisabled widow(er)s: $1,710.46
- Disabled widow(er): $893.54
- Parents of deceased workers: $1,538.25
When are May 2023 Social Security payments sent?
The SSA will begin distributing Social Security payments on Monday, 1 May , with those who have been receiving Social Security benefits since or before 1997 being sent two days later. The remaining checks will be sent based on one’s birthday:
- Wednesday, 12 April: birthdays between the 1st and 10th of any month;
- Wednesday, 19 April: birthdays between the 11th and 20th of any month; and
- Wednesday, 26 April: birthdays between the 21st and 31st of any month.