A new week brings with it a new payment cycle for Social Security recipients. This May 15th and May 22nd, two new disbursements will be made for those beneficiaries whose birthdays fall on certain dates.
As you already know, Social Security recipients receive their payments on different dates each month, grouped according to the type of benefit or date of birth. On the first day of each month, Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiaries receive their payments, while on the second Wednesday of each month, retirees who have birthdays between the 1st and the 10th of any month receive their payments.
The third Wednesday is the payment date for those who have birthdays between the 11th and the 20th of any month, and finally, payments for those who have birthdays between the 21st and the 31st of any month are made on the fourth Wednesday.
In addition, there are other payments scheduled every month. For example, on May 3, those who have been Social Security beneficiaries since before May 1997 received their payments. This same date is when benefits are received by those who are receiving both Social Security and SSI at the same time: in this case, Social Security benefits are paid on the 3rd of each month and SSI is paid on the 1st.
SSI Recipients to Collect Dual Payments This Month
However, to complete the calendar for the month of May, the payments of May 15 are delivered for the group of beneficiaries who meet between the 11th and the 20th of each month, and May 22 for those who meet between the 21st and the 31st of each month.
A special feature in May is that SSI beneficiaries who already received their payment on May 1 will receive another payment. Although it may seem like a double payment, in reality it is not. This anomaly occurs a few times during the year due to the way Social Security payments are scheduled.
For example, the first of June corresponds to the next SSI payment, but since it falls on a Saturday, the Social Security administration has decided to move these payments to the nearest previous business day, which in this case would be May 31.
With this, SSI beneficiaries will not receive any payments in June and will see money in their bank accounts or mailboxes again until the first of July. The same situation will be repeated in August and November.
Who Can Receive the Maximum Social Security Payment of $4,873?
Social Security was never designed to be the only source of income for retirees, but for some its benefits make a big difference. The maximum benefits during the year 2024 is $4,873.
That is why it should always be considered that, upon retirement, an average person will receive less money than his last salaries. It is all a financial planning that you should do years in advance, before your time to retire.
The Better the Salary, the Better the Retirement
How do some retirees manage to reach the maximum of $4,873 a month in 2024? There are three keys to maximizing Social Security benefits. The first is to have a high enough income every year for an extended period. The minimum taxable income in 2024 to reach the maximum is $168,600. This number is adjusted annually for inflation.
Work a Minimum or Years Required by the SSA
The second key is to have worked and contributed at least 35 years to your social Security taxes. The Social Security Administration (SSA) takes into account the 35 years with the highest income, and if any of these years have income marked as $0, this will affect the average of the other years.
Delay Your Retirement
The third factor is to delay retirement as much as possible. The later you retire, the higher your monthly benefit will be, and for every year you delay retirement after age 62, your benefit will increase by about 8%. Therefore, if you wait until the age of 70 to retire, you will receive the maximum possible benefit in 2024, which is $4,873.