Social Security benefits will be paid out to millions of Americans this week.
Why It Matters
The Social Security Administration (SSA) sends monthly payments to more than 74 million Americans, serving as a crucial source of income for retirees, people with disabilities, and survivors of deceased workers. To manage this enormous volume, payments are spread across the month, with most recipients’ schedules tied to their birth dates.
What To Know
On Wednesday, September 10, benefit payments are scheduled to be made to those with a birthday between the 1st and 10th of any month in the year.
Anyone who hasn’t received their payment on the expected date should allow three working days before contacting the SSA. Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays are not working days.
How Much Social Security Can I Get?
As of January 2025, the typical monthly Social Security retirement check is about $2,006.69. The maximum benefits available are:
- Retiring early at age 62: maximum benefit of $2,831 per month
- Retiring at full retirement age (67): maximum benefit of $4,018 per month
- Delaying until age 70: maximum benefit of $5,108 per month
Your actual benefit, however, depends on your lifetime earnings and how many years you contributed through payroll taxes.
Still waiting for your check? Your payment could be scheduled for later in the month, and will arrive on one of the following days:
- September 17: Those with birthdays between the 11th and 20th.
- September 24: Those with birthdays between the 21st and 31st.
2026 COLA Incoming
Next month, benefit recipients will learn how much their payments will rise next year, which is known as the annual Cost of Living Adjustment, or COLA. The adjustment is designed to keep payments in line with inflation so that purchasing power is not eroded over time.
Benefits are projected to rise by 2.7 percent, according to the latest estimate from advocacy group The Senior Citizens League.
The Social Security COLA is based on the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W), which tracks price changes from about 80,000 products through Bureau of Labor Statistics surveys. Each year, the COLA is determined by comparing the average CPI-W from the third quarter of the current year with the same period the year before. If costs rise, the increase is rounded to the nearest 10th of a percent and applied as the new COLA.
Social Security benefit increases vary from year to year. In 2025, benefits were boosted by 2.5 percent, and in 2024, payments rose 3.2 percent, following a historic 8.7 percent increase in 2023 driven by post-pandemic inflation. While most years bring an adjustment, there have been exceptions, with no COLA applied in 2009, 2010, and 2015.
The post Social Security: Payments Worth up to $5,108 Due This Week appeared first on Newsweek.
