No Social Security payments are scheduled to go out this week.
Why It Matters
The Social Security Administration (SSA) distributes monthly benefits to retirees, people with disabilities and the families of deceased workers. Because there are multiple payment types and about 70 million beneficiaries, not everyone receives their money at the same time.
What To Know
Most Social Security recipients are paid based on their birth date unless they began receiving benefits before May 1997 or also receive Supplemental Security Income. SSI is a federal assistance program offering monthly payments to people with disabilities or blindness and to adults 65 and older who meet certain financial criteria. These two groups typically get paid during the first week of the month.
Retirees who don’t receive SSI and began collecting benefits after May 1997 usually get paid on the second Wednesday of the month, which normally lands in the second week. In August, their payment is set to go out on the 13th, which falls in the third week.
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This isn’t a delay. The second Wednesday, when people born between the 1st and 10th of any month are paid, happens to fall in the third week of August.
Those with birthdays from the 11th to 20th are expected to be paid on August 20. Payments for people born between the 21st and 31st are scheduled for August 27.
The SSA advises anyone who does not receive their payment on the expected date to wait three business days before reaching out. Weekends and public holidays do not count as business days.
How Much Is Social Security?
Benefit amounts differ for each person. They’re determined by a formula that takes into account a worker’s 35 highest-earning years—adjusted for inflation—and the age at which they decide to begin claiming benefits. The earliest age a person can claim retirement is 62 years old, and different rules apply for spousal and survivor benefits.
In 2025, someone retiring at the full retirement age of 67 can receive up to $4,018 per month. Choosing to retire early at 62 lowers the maximum to $2,831, while waiting until age 70 increases it to as much as $5,108 per month.
However, in May, the average across all retirement recipients was $2,002.39. For those collecting spousal benefits, the average check came to $950.20, while those collecting survivor benefits saw $1,566.66.
“The average Social Security benefit amount changes monthly,” an agency spokesperson previously told Newsweek. “As wages tend to rise over time, each new group of retirees raises the average benefit amount, since their benefit calculations typically reflect higher earnings.”
Those receiving SSI, which can be claimed at any age, got an average of $718.30. These payments depend on the recipient’s income and any other financial resources they have access to.