The Social Security Administration (SSA) has been consistent in the past 80 years of making sure that Social Security benefits are paid out on time each month. Following a strict schedule, these payments are a lifeline for nearly 70 million Americans who rely on their Social Security to cover their monthly expenses. The strict schedule is in place to ensure that beneficiaries are able to accurately budget their payments. However, next month, the schedule will deviate slightly.
How Social Security structures its payments through the month
The SSA staggers and schedules their payments according to your birthdate, as well as depending on which SSA funds you receive benefits from. For the past 80 years of the program’s existence, SSA has never missed or delayed a payment for its beneficiaries. Each year, the payments increase for beneficiaries according to the cost-of-living adjustment index (COLA) and are paid out according to the following schedule:
- Social Security and disability benefits are paid on the second Wednesday of the month if your birthday falls between the first and the tenth.
- Social Security and disability benefits are paid on the third Wednesday of the month if your birthday falls between the eleventh and the twentieth.
- Social Security and disability benefits are paid on the fourth Wednesday of the month if your birthday falls between the 21st and the 31st.
- Social Security benefits will be paid on the third of the month to recipients who receive both Social Security and Supplementary Security Income (SSI), while SSI benefits will be paid on the first.
- You will get your benefits on the third of the month if you claimed your Social Security benefits before May 1, 1997.
Double payments beneficiaries can expect next month
According to the SSA average payment statistics, the average Disability benefit amount beneficiaries receive each month is $1,580. For Retirement beneficiaries, the average payment is $1,976 for individual beneficiaries, while the maximum Supplementary Security Income (SSI) payment paid out to beneficiaries amounts to $967 for individual filers. If you only receive Social Security and/or Disability payments, the first round of payments will be released on May 14. However, according to the schedule, some will see their first payment on May 3, 2025.
However, for next month, some beneficiaries will have two payments distributed to them. While the SSA payment schedule generally never deviates, payment dates do change if the anticipated payment date falls on a weekend or public holiday. With June 1 falling on a Sunday, beneficiaries of SSI will therefore receive their June SSI payment on May 30, meaning that next month will see two rounds of SSI payments released.
How Social Security may change this year
Next month’s payments are just a drop in the ocean when it comes to changes coming towards the SSA. Major internal changes are now taking place at SSA, with a large number of employees being let go as a result of the new Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) internal restructuring proposals. The Trump Administration has hired DOGE to offer suggestions on how to cut back on wasteful federal spending.
Further, beneficiaries should anticipate either an increase in their Social Security taxes or a reduction in their payments to prolong the fund’s lifespan, as the fund is predicted to run out by the early 2030s. However, President Trump has made it clear time and time again that he has no intention of enacting this, and instead intends to completely reduce Social Security taxes. Experts have cautioned, meanwhile, that this would result in the money running out far sooner than anticipated and have cautioned the Trump Administration against doing this and instead focusing their efforts on extending the fund’s longevity.
