There are a lot of payments made every month to retirees, survivors, disabled people, and people who get Supplemental Security Income (SSI). But in the last two months of the year, people who get SSI will see some changes to their payments.
The Social Security Administration says that SSI recipients will get three payments in the last two months of the year because they will get their January benefits early.
The SSA will move the payment date to the previous business day, which is December 31st, because January 1st is a holiday. If you get SSI payments or want to apply for them, this page has more information about when to expect them and what you need to do.
SSI payments will change their regular schedule in November and December
The Social Security Administration gives out more than 70 million checks every year to people who get benefits from the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Retirement, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (RSDI) programs.
Because of this, the SSA made an annual payment schedule so that all beneficiaries know exactly when they will get their money each year.
According to this Social Security payment schedule, these are the most important things that must happen in order for you to get your benefits:
- If you are eligible for the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program, you will typically receive your benefits on the first of each month, unless it falls on a holiday or weekend. In this case, the federal agency will reschedule the payment for the previous business day.
- Unless it falls on a federal holiday or a weekend, you will always receive your benefits on the third day of the month if you are eligible for the retirement, survivor, and disability insurance (RSDI) program and you filed for benefits before May 1997.
- If you are eligible for the RSDI program but applied for benefits after May 1997, you will be paid according to the following staggered payment schedule:
- On the second Wednesday of the month for those born between the 1st and the 10th
- On the third Wednesday of the month for those born between the 11th and the 20th
- On the fourth Wednesday of the month for those born between the 21st and the 31st
Due to these circumstances, SSI beneficiaries will receive a triple SSI payment before the end of the year, mostly because some payment dates coincide with federal holidays or weekends.
For your convenience, we have included the complete payment schedule here:
| SSI payments | SSI payments date | Advanced payment |
| October | October 1st | – |
| November | November 1st | November 29th (December 1st) |
| December | – | December 31st (January 1st) |
As you can see, people who get Supplemental Security Income (SSI) will get three times as much money in the next two months. Two of these payments will happen in November, since that is when they normally get paid: on the first of the month.
However, because December 1st is a holiday, the SSA will move that payment to November 29th, which is the previous business day. In the same way, SSI recipients will get an extra payment at the end of the year since January 1st is a holiday.
Because of this, people who get SSI will get their first enhanced payment of 2025, plus one payment early. So, people who get SSI will get an average of $967 on December 31 instead of $943.
If you take into account the 2.5% cost of living adjustment (COLA), these are all the SSI payments that these claimants can get in 2025:
| SSI payments | Social Security checks | 2.5% COLA increase | Extra income |
| On average | $698 | $715 | $17 |
| Individuals | $943 | $967 | $24 |
| Couples | $1,415 | $1,450 | $35 |
| Essential person | $472 | $484 | $12 |
