Social Security benefits exist as a lifeline of support for tens of millions of vulnerable individuals across the country. A number of these households rely on their monthly benefit check to cover at least part of their living expenses and as such, knowing exactly when to expect your benefit check in advance can be incredibly helpful.
Likely for such a reason, the Social Security Administration (SSA) uploads its payment schedule for the full calendar year well in advance. This allows beneficiaries the ability to plan out their monthly budgets well in advance as well. We are currently only in October of 2025, however, the agency has already shared its full payment schedule for the 2026 calendar year. Here is what you need to know.
How are Social Security benefit payments structured?
The rollout of the monthly Social Security benefit check follows a well structured schedule wherein benefits are paid to recipients on Wednesdays throughout the month. Each beneficiary will, of course, only receive one check per month, however, due to the sheer volume of recipients, the SSA has spread out its payment days throughout the month.
The agency uses the date of birth of the beneficiary in order to determine the precise Wednesday on which they will receive their benefit check for the month. Payments are sent out on the second, third, and fourth Wednesday of each month relative to when in the month the recipient was born.
The SSA also issues benefit checks for the Supplemental Security Income, and this is typically done on the first of each month. If the first falls on a weekend or a holiday, the agency will then issue that month’s payment a few days earlier so as to prevent any delays on the part of the beneficiary.
Outline of all benefit payments for 2026
The 2026 payment calendar will bring with it a new benefit amount for beneficiaries as well. This is because the 2026 COLA increase will come into effect as of January 2026 following its announcement later this month on October 24th, 2025.
As such, here is a complete breakdown of benefit payment dates for the 2026 calendar year:
January:
- Second Wednesday, Jan 14th — recipients with birth dates from the 1st to the 10th of their respective birth month
- Third Wednesday, Jan 21st — recipients with birth dates from the 11th to the 20th of their respective birth month
- Fourth Wednesday, Jan 28th — recipients with birth dates from the 21st to the 31st of their respective birth month
February:
- Feb 11th — recipients with birth dates from the 1st to the 10th
- Feb 18th — recipients with birth dates from the 11th to the 20th
- Feb 25th — recipients with birth dates from the 21st to the 31st
March:
- March 11th — recipients with birth dates from the 1st to the 10th
- March 18th — recipients with birth dates from the 11th to the 20th
- March 25th — recipients with birth dates from the 21st to the 31st
April:
- April 8th — recipients with birth dates from the 1st to the 10th
- April 15th — recipients with birth dates from the 11th to the 20th
- April 22nd — recipients with birth dates from the 21st to the 31st
May:
- May 13th — recipients with birth dates from the 1st to the 10th
- May 20th — recipients with birth dates from the 11th to the 20th
- May 27th — recipients with birth dates from the 21st to the 31st
June:
- June 10th — recipients with birth dates from the 1st to the 10th
- June 17th — recipients with birth dates from the 11th to the 20th
- June 24th — recipients with birth dates from the 21st to the 31st
July:
- July 8th — recipients with birth dates from the 1st to the 10th
- July 15th — recipients with birth dates from the 11th to the 20th
- July 22nd — recipients with birth dates from the 21st to the 31st
August:
- Aug 12th — recipients with birth dates from the 1st to the 10th
- Aug 19th — recipients with birth dates from the 11th to the 20th
- Aug 26th — recipients with birth dates from the 21st to the 31st
September:
- Sept 9th — recipients with birth dates from the 1st to the 10th
- Sept 16th — recipients with birth dates from the 11th to the 20th
- Sept 23rd — recipients with birth dates from the 21st to the 31st
October:
- Oct 14th — recipients with birth dates from the 1st to the 10th
- Oct 21st — recipients with birth dates from the 11th to the 20th
- Oct 28th — recipients with birth dates from the 21st to the 31st
November:
- Tuesday, Nov 10th — recipients with birth dates from the 1st to the 10th
- Nov 18th — recipients with birth dates from the 11th to the 20th
- Nov 25th — recipients with birth dates from the 21st to the 31st
December:
- Dec 9th — recipients with birth dates from the 1st to the 10th
- Dec 16th — recipients with birth dates from the 11th to the 20th
- Dec 23rd — recipients with birth dates from the 21st to the 31st