Tomorrow is the first day of October which, for the Social Security Administration (SSA), means the start of the next round of benefit payments. Beneficiaries of the Social Security program can find the agency’s official payment schedule on the SSA’s website. On this schedule, recipients will find payment dates for the full calendar year for both the regular Social Security benefit, as well as the Supplemental Security Income.
The regular Social Security benefit follows a payment structure that is independent to the payment structure of the Supplemental Security Income, and this week is packed with payments scheduled to be rolled out. Here is what you need to know.
Benefit payments – October week one
The Supplemental Security Income, or SSI benefit is typically paid on the first of each month. This payment will often be made a few days earlier if the first of the month falls on a weekend or holiday, however. This is not the case for October, which means that the SSI benefit for October will be rolled out to eligible individuals tomorrow on October 1st.
The regular Social Security benefit, which is paid to retirees, survivors, or disabled individuals, is rolled out to recipients on either the second, third, or fourth Wednesday of each month, depending on the beneficiary’s date of birth. As such, for this week, no regular Social Security benefit payments will be rolled out on the Wednesday of this week.
On Friday October 3rd, however, a regular Social Security benefit will be paid out to certain beneficiaries. There are certain individuals who qualify to receive both the regular Social Security benefit, as well as the SSI benefit. In the case of such individuals, the SSA notes the following: “If you received Social Security before May 1997 or if receiving both Social Security & SSI, Social Security is paid on the 3rd and SSI on the 1st.”
The remainder of October benefits will be rolled out as per the schedule, however, it is worth noting that there will be a second SSI payment on October 31st. This is not an error nor is it a bonus check from the government. It is actually the November SSI being paid to beneficiaries earlier.
“When the first day of the month falls on the weekend or a federal holiday, you receive your SSI payment on the last business day before the first day of the month. That means you may get two SSI payments in the same month,” the SSA previously explained in a blog post from 2022. “We do this to avoid putting you at a financial disadvantage and make sure that you don’t have to wait beyond the first of the month to get your payment. It does not mean that you are receiving a duplicate payment in the previous month, so you do not need to contact us to report the second payment.”
As such, listed below is a complete outline of all payment dates for October:
- October 1st — SSI benefit for October
- October 3rd — Social Security benefit for recipients who also receive the SSI beenfit
- October 8th, second Wednesday — Social Security benefit for recipients with birth dates from the 1st to the 10th of their respective birth month
- October 15th, third Wednesday — Social Security benefit for recipients with birth dates from the 11th to the 20th of their respective birth month
- October 22nd, fourth Wednesday — Social Security benefit for recipients with birth dates from the 21st to the 31st of their respective birth month
- October 31st — SSI benefit for November
Social Security COLA
Along with the array of benefit payments, October is also meant to bring with it the next COLA (Cost of Living Adjustment) announcement. The COLA is an increase implemented to benefits in order to counter the effects of year over year inflation. It is determined using the CPI-W for the third quarter of the year as released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The announcement is usually made by the SSA around mid-October, however, this year’s COLA announcement may be delayed due to the possibility of a government shutdown within the next few days.
“The Bureau of Labor Statistics would stop operating in the event of a government shutdown — all active data collection would cease,” stated the Department of Labor in a press release from Monday. “A delay of the CPI release during October of each year might have an impact on the Cost of Living Adjustment announcement by the Social Security Administration.”