Recipients of the Supplemental Security Income will not be receiving a check for the entire duration of this month of November due to a quirk in the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) schedule structure. This does not mean that the November Supplemental Security Income will be lost to beneficiaries. Despite the “missed” payment during the month of November, payments for all calendar months of this year are still accounted for. Here is what you need to know.
Where is the November SSI?
Unlike the regular Social Security benefit which is paid on Wednesdays throughout the month, the Supplemental Security Income is paid to recipients on the first of each month. If, however, the first of the month falls on a weekend or a holiday, the SSA will push the payment up to the last working day of the month before the SSI benefit is due.
“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,” the SSA explains.
Since November 1st fell on a Saturday which is the weekend, the SSA paid the Supplemental Security Income for November on October 31st. As a result, there is no Supplemental Security Income payment scheduled for the full month of November, and yet the payment has not been skipped and benefits for all calendar months have still been accounted for in the year thus far.
By issuing the benefit payment a few days earlier, unnecessary delays are prevented and beneficiaries can have their benefit for the month as the month begins rather than it being delayed until the first working day of the new month.
SSI payment schedule
Here is a timeline for the next several Supplemental Security Income payments:
- Friday, October 31st — SSI for November 2025
- Monday, December 1st — SSI for December 2025
- Wednesday, December 31st — SSI for January 2026
- Friday, January 30th — SSI for February 2026
- Friday, February 27th — SSI for March 2026
- Wednesday, April 1st — SSI for April 2026
- Friday May 1st — SSI for May 2026
The complete benefit payment schedule for the 2026 calendar year has already been made available by the SSA and can be found on the agency’s website. The schedule contains payment dates for both the regular Social Security benefit, as well as the Supplemental Security Income. The regular Social Security benefit is paid to recipients on Wednesdays throughout the month, relative to the date of birth of the recipient.
2.8% COLA increase for 2026
On October 24th, following some minor delays due to the ongoing federal government shutdown, the SSA announced a 2.8% Cost of Living Adjustment for 2026. The Cost of Living Adjustment, or COLA, is an increase implemented to benefits annually so as to counter the effects of inflation.
This 2.8% will apply to all benefits issued by the SSA, including the Supplemental Security Income. The COLA increase will add around $56 more to the average retiree benefit starting in January of the upcoming year.
According to advocacy group, The Senior Citizen’s League (TSCL), ”only 10 percent of seniors are happy with the amount they receive from their monthly Social Security checks, with many citing COLAs that lag inflation as a problem. TSCL’s research found that 94 percent of seniors said the 2025 COLA of 2.5 percent was too low and would cause their monthly checks to fall behind inflation.”
The Supplemental Security Income will also be undergoing a 2.8% increase in the new year. According to the SSA, “the monthly maximum Federal amounts for 2026 are $994 for an eligible individual, $1,491 for an eligible individual with an eligible spouse, and $498 for an essential person.”