This week, the Social Security Administration (SSA) will send hundreds of millions of dollars to beneficiaries across the country, with payments that can reach up to $967 for those who qualify. These are payments from Supplemental Security Income (SSI), a special fund for people at risk.
SSI applicants will receive their funds as early as this week, a program designed to help adults and children who are disabled or blind and have low or no income. These benefit payments are an essential component of the country’s social assistance system and keep millions of beneficiaries away from poverty or food risk.
An SSI payment will arrive sooner than expected: SSA explains why
On Friday, January 31, the Social Security Administration (SSA) will process SSI payments. Typically, SSI payments are made on the first day of each month, but they can be moved if they fall on a weekend or federal holiday.
On its official blog, the SSA explained that they carry out these payment movements to prevent recipients from seeing the arrival of their money delayed. The agency clarified that this procedure does not imply a duplicate payment from the previous month, so it is not necessary for beneficiaries to communicate to report this fact, meaning that it is not an anomaly and will cause no legal consequences to anyone.
Maximum 2025 SSI Payments
Since the beginning of this year, the annual Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) has impacted the maximum amount of benefits that can be received by 2.5%. For 2025, the maximum SSI benefit has been set at $967 for individuals and $1,450 for couples, up from $943 and $1,415 in 2024. The maximum allotment for an essential person of help for an elder or disabled person is $484.
This year’s COLA increase is much lower than the 3.2% in 2024, and the 8.7% that was almost a record in 2023, as a consequence of the inflation left by the pandemic.
The large SSI payments vary depending on several factors, including income, type of disability, and the number of people residing in the applicant’s household. According to the Congressional Research Service, the average SSI payment administered by the federal government in February 2024 was $697, but it is not yet known exactly what the average payment will be in 2025.