Millions of Social Security recipients will be receiving multiple checks in the coming months due to some quirks in the Social Security Administration’s 2024 calendar. This change in payment schedule, affecting both Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and regular Social Security beneficiaries, will begin in November 2024 and continue through early 2025.
Over 7 million SSI recipients will be the first to experience this new development. Typically, SSI payments are issued on the 1st of each month. However, when the 1st falls on a weekend or a legal public holiday, payments are made on the earliest preceding day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or holiday.
As a result, SSI beneficiaries will receive two payments in November 2024: one on November 1 for the current month, and another on November 29, which is actually the December payment issued early because December 1 falls on a Sunday. This pattern will continue for several months, with January 2025 payments arriving on December 31, 2024, February payments on January 31, 2025, and March payments on February 28, 2025.
If you receive both SSI and regular Social Security benefits, or if you started claiming Social Security before May 1997, the situation is even more unique. You could see three payments next month, as your regular Social Security payment (usually distributed on the 3rd of the month) will also be moved to November 1 as November 3 is a Sunday.
Beneficiaries need to know that these are not extra payments but rather an advance on future benefits. The SSA announced that recipients do not need to report these early payments or take any action since they are intentional.
This unusual payment schedule coincides with other new changes to Social Security benefits. The SSA recently announced a 2.5% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for 2025, which will increase the average monthly retirement benefit by about $50. This more modest increase, compared to the 3.2% COLA in 2024 and the substantial 8.7% rise in 2023, reflects slowing inflation rates.
Additionally, the Social Security payroll tax cap will increase to $176,100 in 2025, up from $168,600 in 2024. This adjustment affects the maximum amount of income subject to Social Security taxes.