The federal government has announced that no checks will be issued to retirees or Americans with disabilities during the week of August 4-11, according to the Social Security benefit payment schedule. This decision is due to the programming established by the Social Security Administration (SSA).
Since June 1997, the SSA has been distributing retirement and disability benefits on a recurring basis on four days throughout the month: the 3rd and the second, third and fourth Wednesdays. If a Wednesday scheduled for payment delivery falls on a federal holiday, benefits will be paid on the preceding non-holiday business day.
Upcoming Social Security payment date in August
The Social Security payment schedule is organized as follows, depending on the date of birth of the beneficiaries:
- From 1 to 10: Second Wednesday of the month
- From 11 to 20: Third Wednesday of the month
- From the 21st to the 31st: Fourth Wednesday of the month
The next batch of payments will be issued on August 14. The SSA warns that if beneficiaries do not receive their payment on the expected date, they should wait an additional three days before contacting the Social Security Administration.
Maximum and Average Social Security Benefits
If you are one of those pension beneficiaries waiting for their payments, remember that the amount you receive depends on each particular case and there is no such thing as one-size-fits-all. In 2024, the average monthly benefit is around $1,900 per month, although the maximum possible claimable amount is $4,873 (totaling $58,476 per year).
For workers who receive Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits, which are payments made by Social Security to those beneficiaries who have suffered a qualifying disability that is expected to last at least one year, or that doctors determine will end with death.
The maximum possible an SSDI recipient can claim is $3,627, but the average is much lower than that: just under $1,500 (the amount varies month to month).
Social Security Benefits Will Increase Starting January 1, 2025
The Social Security Administration (SSA) applies an increase every year to the benefits it distributes, designed to help prevent beneficiaries from losing purchasing power. The cost of living adjustment (COLA) formula compares the consumer price index (CPI-W) of a month’s third quarter with the same period of the previous year.
If an increase in prices is noted between one year and the next, the percentage that arises will be applied as a COLA increase. If there is no increase, then the benefits will remain the same until next year.
The COLA Increase Likely to Be Lower in 2025
The adjustment to your monthly benefits may not be as juicy as you would like. The Senior Citizens League, a nonpartisan, nonprofit retiree protection group, estimates it will only increase by 2.63%. Retirees received a 3.2% increase in 2024, an 8.7% increase in 2023, and a 5.9% increase in 2022, three numbers that help you get an idea of how much less of an increase you’ll see.
But well, the fact that the COLA increase is small is also good news, because it is an indicator of inflation that remains controlled, that is, that the prices of products and services have not risen so much since the last CPI measurement.