Millions of Americans will receive their monthly Social Security payments this week.
Why It Matters
Social Security benefits—issued in one lump sum each month for most recipients—provide critical income for retirees, surviving family members, and those with disabilities.
What To Know
The timing of retirement, spousal, and survivor benefit payments depends on a recipient’s birth date and how long they’ve been in the program. This week, payments for those born between the first and 10th of any month will be issued on Wednesday, August 13.
More payments will be made on the following dates:
- Wednesday, August 20: Benefits for those born between the 11th and 20th
- Wednesday, August 27: Benefits for those with birthdays between the 21st and 31st
- Friday, August 29: Supplemental Security Income payments. This payment would usually come at the first of the month for September. However, due to September 1 falling on Labor Day, a national holiday, the payment will be made slightly earlier.
The Social Security Administration (SSA) determines retirement benefits using your highest 35 years of earnings, adjusted for inflation. Those earnings are averaged, and a progressive formula—designed to replace a higher percentage of income for lower earners – produces a base amount called the Primary Insurance Amount (PIA). This means that not everyone will get the same amount of benefits.
When you start claiming benefits can make a big difference:
- Claiming at full retirement age (currently 67) gives you 100 percent of your PIA.
- Claiming early at age 62 reduces your benefit.
- Delaying past full retirement age, up to age 70, increases your monthly payment.
In 2025, the maximum monthly benefit is:
- $2,831 if starting at age 62
- $4,018 at full retirement age
- $5,108 if delayed until age 70
However, a recent Cato Institute survey highlights just how little many Americans know about Social Security payouts. The August 2025 poll found that 91 percent of respondents did not realize the program’s maximum annual benefit can reach $60,000.
As of June 2025, the average monthly payment stands at $2,005.05—about $24,000 a year before taxes. Yet only 25 percent of those surveyed correctly guessed that the average benefit falls between $20,000 and $29,000 annually. Thirty-eight percent underestimated the figure, 17 percent overestimated it, and 19 percent said they didn’t know.
Benefit Boost for 2026
Social Security benefits rise each year through the program’s Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA), an inflation-linked increase announced every October and applied the following January.
For 2026, the Senior Citizens League projects a COLA of 2.6 percent—slightly above the 2.5 percent boost beneficiaries received at the start of 2025.
The official announcement on how much benefits will rise by for 2026 will be made by the SSA in October 2025.
The post Social Security: Payments Worth up to $5,108 Going Out This Week appeared first on Newsweek.
