Wednesdays are a rather important day for beneficiaries of the Social Security program. This is because the Social Security Administration (SSA) issues its benefit payments on a Wednesday rotation throughout the month. Due to the high volume of recipients, the agency issues benefit checks on the second, third, and fourth Wednesday of each month, with the recipient’s birth date used to determine their respective payment date. A benefit payment schedule for the full calendar year can be found on the SSA’s website as well. This gives beneficiaries the ability to plan their monthly budgets in advance, using their benefit payment dates as a starting point.
The month of November may be close to its end, however, the SSA still has one last round of benefit checks to send out. Here is what you need to know.
November benefit payment breakdown
Unless you are a recipient of the Supplemental Security Income, or you have been receiving Social Security since before May 1997, you Social Security benefit will be issued on either the second, third, or fourth Wednesday of each month. The recipient’s date of birth is used to determine precisely when they will receive their monthly benefit check. The date on which a recipient will receive their benefit is determined as follows:
- Second Wednesday — beneficiaries with birth dates from the 1st to the 10th of their respective birth month
- Third Wednesday — beneficiaries with birth dates from the 11th to the 20th of their respective birth month
- Fourth Wednesday — beneficiaries with birth dates from the 21st to the 31st of their respective birth month
Two out of the three cohorts of beneficiaries will have already received their benefits for this month of November. The remaining cohort will see checks hit their bank accounts this Wednesday on November 26th. Recipients of the Supplemental Security Income will have also received their benefit for the month as of October 31st. The reason the November SSI had been issued at the end of October was due to November 1st falling on a weekend. While the SSI benefit is typically paid on the first of the month, if the first happens to fall on a weekend or a holiday, the SSA moves up the payment to the last working day of the previous month so as to prevent any delays on behalf of the beneficiary.
List of payment dates for the November round of benefits
- Friday, October 31st — Supplemental Security Income for November
- Monday, November 3rd — Social Security for those who had been receiving Social Security before May 1997, or for those who also receive the Supplemental Security Income in addition to Social Security
- Wednesday, November 12th — recipients with birth dates from the 1st to the 10th
- Wednesday, November 19th — recipients with birth dates from the 11th to the 20th
- Wednesday, November 26th — recipients with birth dates from the 21st to the 31st
2026 COLA increase
The maximum amount issued by the SSA in 2025 is $5,108, however, in order to qualify for this substantial benefit, the retiree needs to have delayed their claim until age 70, while also earning an income equivalent to the wage cap for 35 years prior to retiring. With the January 2026 round of checks, all benefits issued by the SSA will face a 2.8% increase. This increase is known as the Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) and it is implemented to benefits annually so as to counter the effects of inflation hikes. The average retiree benefit currently totals to $2,008 and as such, the average COLA increase translates to around $56 more per month. The maximum retiree benefit issued at full retirement age in 2025 amounts to $4,018, however, this will be increased to $4,152 in 2026 once the COLA increase comes into effect.