Month after month, the Social Security Administration (SSA) rolls out tens of millions of benefit checks. Today is the final day of October and the SSA is not yet done with its payments for the month. Furthermore, the Supplemental Security Income payment that is typically scheduled for the first of each month will be skipped in November.
This does not mean that beneficiaries will be losing out on a payment for the month, nor are they are getting a bonus payment at the end of October. The SSA’s payment scheduled is structure with a small quirk built into it for the convenience of the beneficiary. Here is everything you need to know about the October 31st payment from the SSA and the “missed” November payment.
Social Security benefit payment structure
The Social Security benefit and the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) follow independent payment structures, with both marked on the SSA’s official payment schedule. The regular Social Security benefit is paid on Wednesdays throughout the month relative to the date of birth of the beneficiary.
The Supplemental Security Income is slightly different to the regular Social Security benefit. SSI benefits are paid to individuals who have little to no other resources or income, often as a result of having a disability. SSI benefits are typically paid on the first of each month. In 2025, the maximum SSI benefits paid to recipients amounts to $967 for an individual and $1,450 for a couple. These figures will increase in the new year once the COLA increase of 2.8% comes into effect.
November SSI
While SSI benefits are typically paid on the first of the month, the agency will often send this payment out a few days early. Due to these early payments, it may seem as though there will be two SSI payments for one month, however, it is important to note that all calendar months will still be accounted for on the payment schedule.
This scheduling quirk is quite simple to understand. If the first of the month falls on a weekend or a holiday, the SSA will push up that month’s SSI payment to the last working day of the previous month. This way the recipient can have their benefit as the month begins rather than it being delayed to the first working day of the new month.
As a result, the next month appears as though it has been skipped on the schedule, however, all calendar months are accounted for. As such, the October 31st payment that will be hitting SSI recipients’ bank accounts today is the SSI benefit for November. This means that there will be no SSI payment scheduled for the full month of November.
Benefit payment schedule for November
The benefit payments for November will begin today on October 31st. As such, here is a complete breakdown of the benefit payments intended for the month of November:
- Friday, October 31st — SSI benefit for November
- Monday, November 3rd — Social Security benefit for those who receive Social Security before May 1997, or for beneficiaries who receive Social Security and SSI
- Wednesday, November 12th — Social Security benefit for recipients with birth dates from the 1st to the 10th of their respective birth month
- Wednesday, November 19th — Social Security benefit for recipients with birth dates from the 11th to the 20th of their respective birth month
- Wednesday, November 26th — Social Security benefit for recipients with birth dates from the 21st to the 31st of their respective brith month
Due to the January 1st being a holiday, the January 2026 SSI benefit will be paid on December 31st. This means that SSI recipients will technically be getting their SSI benefits with the 2026 COLA increase in 2025.