Every month, the Social Security Administration (SSA) releases millions of payments to their approximately 70 million beneficiaries, the large majority of which are retirees. These payments are released according to a strict and rigorous schedule, not only to ensure a smooth payment distribution process but also to guarantee that beneficiaries can accurately plan their monthly expenses around accurate payment dates. With the new month rolling in, some beneficiaries can soon expect to receive the maximum payment of $5,108.
The SSA staggers payments across the month
With approximately 70 million beneficiaries to distribute payment to, the SSA ensures that a rigorous payment schedule is kept up. Your relevant payment date is is determined according to which fund you receive benefits from, the time at which you claimed your benefits, as well as whether or not you receive payments from across multiple funds.
The general payment schedule the SSA adheres to is as follows:
- The second Wednesday of the month: Birth dates between the first and the 10th of the month.
- The third Wednesday of the month: Birth dates between the 11th and 20th of the month.
- The fourth Wednesday of the month: Birth dates between the 21st and 31st of the month.
If you are a Supplementary Security Income (SSI) beneficiary, your payment dates are different to the general schedule. If you only receive SSI, you are paid on the first of every month. If you are both a retirement and SSI beneficiary, you are paid on the third of every month. Additionally, those retirement beneficiaries who claimed their benefits before May 1997 are also paid out on the third.
Who will receive a $5,108 payment from the SSA?
Next will see the first round of SSA payments be distributed to beneficiaries for the month of August. As it is according to the Social Security payment schedule, SSI members will kick off the month with their payments on the first while the third will see the first round of retirement benefits paid out to beneficiaries paid out to those who also receive SSI and those who claimed before May 1997.
Of those beneficiaries, some will be receiving the maximum Social Security payment of $5,108. However, the average beneficiary is paid approximately $2,000 in retirement benefits. In order to be eligible to receive the full maximum payment, you must meet the following criteria:
- You must wait to claim your benefits until you reach 70 years old
- You must have paid Social Security taxes on 35 years of income
- You must have achieved at least 40 working credits
While the SSA allows you to claim your retirement benefits as early as 62 years old, delaying your benefits until you hit 70 is rewarded by the SSA with higher benefits. However, delaying any further past 70 years old reaps no extra benefit.
Maximizing SSA benefits for your retirement
While delaying claiming your benefits from the SSA is the most well known way to ensure that your benefits are maxed out for your retirement, there are other rules you can take advantage of as a beneficiary in order to ensure that you receive the highest monthly payment possible. Once you claim your benefits, you cannot increase them.
One lesser known fact of SSA benefits is that beneficiaries who were married for at least ten years and are now divorced my not be aware that you can still claim spousal benefits if you were married to your former spouse for this length of time. For those who are of still working age, your benefits are always calculated at your highest 35 income earning years. If you are still starting out in your career, make sure that you have at least 35 years where you have earned an income, else those years where you did not report any earnings are calculated as “0”.
Disclaimer: This content is informational only and does not supersede or replace the SSA’s or IRS’s own publications and notices. Always verify any specific dates and amounts by following the direct links in our article to SSA.gov or IRS.gov, or by consulting your local SSA field office or tax professional.
