Don’t Miss Out: Discover the SSI Payment Schedule for December 2024 & January 2025 Now

Most Social Security users receive one check per month, but due to a calendar peculiarity, some elderly Americans did not receive one at the beginning of December. Furthermore, some recipients may begin receiving their annual cost-of-living adjustment this month rather than in January, as is typical. Although the Social Security Administration establishes its yearly payment schedule well before the year, payment dates may surprise some seniors this month, for better or ill.

December SSI payment:

In the initial instance, those receiving Social Security’s Supplemental Security Income, or SSI, received an additional payment in November due to how the calendar fell in December. SSI recipients, a program for disabled individuals and low-income seniors, typically receive checks on the first of each month. However, December 1 happened on a Sunday this year, so this group of recipients received their December checks on Friday, November 29.

In other words, SSI beneficiaries received two checks in November: one for their November payment and another for their December benefit. However, because of the way the calendar falls this year, SSI recipients will continue to get payments in December. Because January 1 is a federal holiday, claimants will receive their January 2025 SSI payment on December 31, according to the Social Security Administration.

When will I receive the 2025 COLA raise in my Social Security check?

In October, the Social Security Administration set the 2025 cost-of-living adjustment at 2.5%, the lowest yearly COLA increase since 2021. The COLA is based on recent inflation rates, and because price increases have dropped from their epidemic peak, seniors will receive a lesser benefit boost for the coming year. The 2025 COLA will add nearly $50 to each monthly benefit check, bringing the average payment to $1,976 per month. For most Social Security claimants, the new COLA begins with their January payment.

However, there is one exception: People who receive their January SSI checks on December 31 will see the new COLA included in their payment, according to the Social Security Administration. Other recipients will receive their revised 2025 COLA when they receive their January installments, which will be determined by their benefits or birthday. Here is the timetable for Social Security recipients receiving their new 2025 COLA payments.

• December 31: SSI members will get their new cost-of-living adjustment for the January 2025 benefit with this payment.
• Jan. 3: People who claimed Social Security before May 1997 or received both Social Security and SSI will see their new 2025 COLA reflected in their checks on this date. 

• January 8: Recipients born between the first and tenth of the month will receive their new COLA with this payment.
• January 15: Recipients born between the 11th and 20th of the month will receive their new COLA on this day.
• January 22: With this payment, those born between the 21st and 31st of the month will see a rise in their cost of living.