More cash is incoming this month for these beneficiaries. The Social Security Administration (SSA) is responsible for distributing approximately 70 million payments to its beneficiaries every month. These payments are mostly for beneficiaries of the retirement fund, but are also for those who receive payments from the Supplementary Security Income (SSI) fund and Disability. This month, one group of beneficiaries can expect a surprise payment from the SSA.
The SSA supports approximately 70 million beneficiaries
The SSA has been a cornerstone social support program for Americans since its inception in 1935. Famous for ‘never missing a payment,’ the SSA has consistently supported its beneficiaries even through a World War and a worldwide pandemic. For many beneficiaries, their Social Security payments are the only income that they have available to them. This is especially true for SSI and Disability members, whereby SSI is reserved for beneficiaries with little to no income or resources, while Disability is for those who are unable to earn an income due to a physical disability.
Each Social Security payment fund has different qualifying criteria, with some beneficiaries receiving payments from more than one. As a general overview, to qualify for retirement benefits, you need to ensure you have paid Social Security taxes for at least ten years. For SSI and Disability payments, your qualifying criteria are based on specific income thresholds that you cannot exceed.
Surprise second cash payment for this group
The SSA generally adheres to a strict and set schedule for releasing payments to beneficiaries throughout the month. For retirement and Disability beneficiaries, these payments are arranged according to your birthdate, while SSI payments are paid out on the first of every month. However, beneficiaries who receive both SSI and retirement benefits are paid on the third of the month, in addition to beneficiaries who claimed their benefits before May 1997.
This month, SSI-only recipients can expect to receive a double payment. The SSA policy on getting two payments in one month describes how beneficiaries will have their payment for the month advanced if the anticipated payment date falls on either of these days:
- The scheduled date falls on a weekend
- The scheduled date falls on a holiday
According to the Social Security payment schedule, this year’s September payment for SSI-only beneficiaries falls on Labor Day. This means that SSI-only beneficiaries will receive their September payment on August 29. The payment schedule will revert to normal for the October benefits.
Who will receive nearly $5,200 from the SSA?
This Wednesday, 27 August, will see the final round of retirement benefits be distributed to beneficiaries for the month. While the average retirement payment amounts to approximately $2,000, some of these beneficiaries will receive the maximum SSA retirement payment of $5,108. However, these beneficiaries are in the minority and need to ensure that they meet specific criteria in order to qualify to receive this amount in retirement benefits.
To receive the maximum payment, the most important qualifying criterion that current working individuals should take note of is delaying when you claim your benefits. Currently, beneficiaries are allowed to claim their retirement benefits as early as 62 years old. However, the SSA rewards you with higher monthly payments if you choose to delay claiming these payments until you are 70 years old, after which there is no additional benefit for you to delay claiming.
While benefits can generally not be increased once you choose to claim them, they are increased annually by the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) statistic. The COLA statistic is applied to all SSA benefits every year in order to ensure that the buying power of recipients’ benefits remains the same, beating inflation. The new COLA statistic is expected to be announced on October 15, with experts anticipating a COLA increase that will be similar to this year’s statistic.
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.
