Some Social Security beneficiaries will be getting their payments directly into their bank accounts this week.
The Social Security Administration (SSA) administers retirement, survivor and disability benefits to tens of millions of Americans every month. These benefits include retirement, disability, and survivor benefits, with a total payout of approximately $1.5 trillion throughout the year.
However, when benefits are deposited into bank accounts depends on a recipients date of birth and what type of benefit they collect.
This week, those who have a birthday between the 21st and 30th of any given month in the year and began claiming after May 1997 will be sent their payment on Wednesday, October 23.
If you have not received your monthly payment on the expected date, the SSA recommends waiting three working days before contacting the agency. Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays are not considered working days.
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The retirement benefit amount you receive can be determined by various factors, including the age at which you start claiming benefits and your earnings during your peak earning years.
In 2024, the maximum monthly benefit of $4,873 is attainable only for those who retire at age 70. If you choose to stop working and start claiming your payments at the earliest possible age of 62, the maximum benefit you could receive would be $2,710.
As of January 2024, the average monthly retirement benefit for claimants was $1,907.
Earlier this month, benefit recipients learned how much their payments will increase in 2025 due to the Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA), which has been set at 2.5 percent. COLA is calculated using the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W), which tracks spending by working Americans.
The 2.5 percent boost means that someone currently receiving $1,870 per month from the SSA could see their payments rise by approximately $46.80 next year, according to Mary Johnson, an independent analyst of Social Security and Medicare policy.
“The 2025 COLA will be the lowest received by Social Security beneficiaries since 2021, at the same time inflated prices persist on key essentials such as housing, meats, auto insurance, any type of service and repairs,” Johnson said in a statement to Newsweek.
“Despite it being the lowest COLA since 2021, a 2.5 percent COLA would be considered about average.”
Experts predicted 2025 COLA was anticipated to be lower than in previous years as inflation has steadily declined throughout following a dramatic increase in 2022. Inflation has dropped from 3.7 percent in September 2023 to 2.3 percent in September 2024.
The COLA increase for 2023 was the largest on record, with seniors having their benefits boosted by 8.7 percent following a period of high inflation driven by the coronavirus pandemic, which peaked at 9.2 percent in 2022.
