Even though December is well underway and the new year is rapidly approaching, there are still a number of Social Security payments due before the year ends.
This is a welcome development for all recipients and beneficiaries, particularly during the high-spending season of Christmas, when every dollar is crucial for financial stability.
During the holidays, it’s important to know your benefit payment dates so you can plan how to spend your money and avoid running out before the holidays.
When will you get your Social Security payments in December
Every month includes several payment days. We always pay Supplemental Security Income (SSI) on the first of each month.
We send this payment earlier to beneficiaries in months where the first day falls on a weekend or a national holiday to prevent delays. This guarantees funding for bill payments regardless of the date.
The distribution of the December SSI payment followed this pattern: Since December 1 fell on a Sunday, we distributed the payment on November 29, also known as Black Friday this year.
However, the December SSI payment will be the January payment, which includes all new year adjustments.
This is due to the fact that January 1 is a national holiday, making it necessary to send out the payment on December 31, an earlier day when banks are open and the US Postal Service is operational.
We divide the remaining Social Security payments into two categories: those who started claiming benefits before May 1997 and those who started claiming benefits after that date.
For those who began claiming before May 1997, the payment date is the third of each month, with the same rules for weekends and national holidays governing the distribution calendar.
However, for those who began claiming after May 1997, the rules are slightly more complicated because the payment date is based on your birth date.
As a general rule, recipients with birthdays on the 1st-10th of the month will receive their benefits on the second Wednesday of that month; those born on the 11th-20th will receive payouts on the third Wednesday, and those born on the 21st-31st will receive payments on the fourth Wednesday. The National Holiday date change continues to apply to these benefits.
Given all of these factors and the peculiarities of each month’s calendar, when can we expect payments in December?
- December 3: Social Security payment for those who began receiving payments before May 1997.
- December 11: Social Security payment for those born between the 1st and 10th of any month and started after May 1997. This round of payments hit beneficiaries’ accounts later this week, so be on the lookout.
- December 18: Social Security payment for those with a birthday between the 11th and 20th of any month and are beneficiaries after May 1997. This payment will be distributed next week, so there is still a bit of time to go
- December 24: Social Security payment for those born between the 21st and 31st of any month, beneficiaries after May 1997. The payment should go out on the 25th, but that is Christmas Day, and thus a National Holiday. This means that the payment is delivered in advance to ensure that beneficiaries are not negatively affected by any potential delays.
- December 31: SSI Payment for January.
