With each new month comes new Social Security payments, and as September comes to a close, October will bring with it several benefit payments to recipients of the Social Security program. Beneficiaries of the program can find the benefit payment schedule for the full calendar year on the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) website. On the official Schedule of Social Security Benefit Payments, beneficiaries will find payment dates for the regular Social Security benefits, as well as for the Supplemental Security Income, or SSI benefit.
Both benefit types follow independent payment schedule structures. The regular Social Security benefit is paid out on the second, third, and fourth Wednesday of each month, depending on the date of birth of the recipient. The SSI benefit, on the other hand, is typically paid out to qualifying beneficiaries on the first of each month.
On the payment schedule for October, however, it appears that SSI recipients will be receiving not one, but two SSI payments throughout the course of the month — and no, this is not an error, nor are you getting an extra benefit. Here is what you need to know.
Double SSI for October
The Supplemental Security Income, or SSI benefit is paid to individuals who are blind, aged 65 or older, or have little to no other income or resources. As mentioned above, this benefit is typically paid on the first of each month, however, this payment date tends to fluctuate (with the adjusted date still marked clearly on the schedule). It is also worth noting that if the SSI is not scheduled for the first of the month, it will always be paid to recipients earlier and never later.
“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 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.”
This will be the case in October as well. On October 1st, one SSI payment will be rolled out, and this is the SSI benefit intended for the month of October. On October 31st, a second SSI payment will be sent out and this is the SSI benefit for the month of November.
Listed below are all of the remaining SSI payments for 2025:
- October 1st – SSI benefit for October
- October 31st – SSI benefit for November
- December 1st – SSI benefit for December
- December 31st – SSI benefit for January 2026
October announcement
Along with an array of benefit payments, the month of October will also bring with it the next COLA announcement. The COLA, or Cost of Living Adjustment, is an increase implemented to benefit amounts annually in order to help counter the effects of inflation. In 2025, the COLA came in at 2.5% and projections for the 2026 COLA are currently standing between 2.7% and 2.8%.
The COLA is determined by measuring the CPI-W for the third quarter of the current year against the CPI-W for the third quarter of the previous year. If there is an increase this becomes the next COLA, and it there is a decrease, benefits will remaining unchanged in the new year. The Bureau of Labor Statistics is expected to release the relevant data on the morning of October 15th, which means that the SSA will likely announce the 2026 COLA later that same day.
Despite projections for the 2026 COLA coming in higher than the 2025 COLA, many experts and senior advocates fear that the COLA will still fall short in addressing the effects of inflation felt by seniors.