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A ROUND of Social Security payments is being sent out to select Americans next week depending on their birthday.
Just three more payments worth up to $4,873 will be sent out by the end of the year.
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Social Security payments are sent out multiple times per month based on a pre-determined schedule.
Retired Americans, individuals with disabilities, and those whose spouse or parent died receive the money once monthly depending on the beneficiary’s birthday.
If the beneficiary was born on the 1st through 10th of their birth month, they receive their benefits on the second Wednesday of each month.
Social Security payments go out on the third Wednesday of each month to those born on the 11th through the 20th.
Read More on Social Security
And finally, Americans with birthdays from the 21st through the 31st receive their money on the fourth Wednesday of each month.
This month, payments for the second Wednesday went out on November 13.
What is Social Security?
Social Security is a social insurance program created in 1935 when President Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law.
Americans pay taxes toward the financial safety net throughout their working years, which later benefits them as monthly payments to support their retirement.
In addition to retirement benefits, Social Security was created to financially support Americans with disabilities and families in which a spouse or parent has died.
The third Wednesday’s round of payments will be sent out today, November 20, and Americans set to receive their cash on the fourth Wednesday will be paid next week on November 27.
The last three Social Security payments for the year will go out on December 11, 18, and 24.
While most payments are made based on birthdays, there are exceptions for Supplemental Security Income recipients and Social Security beneficiaries who filed for benefits before May 1997.
Social Security benefits are paid out in two ways – either through direct deposit or a Direct Express Debit Mastercard.
The Mastercard is a prepaid debit card on which Social Security money is loaded. A bank account is not required to use the card.
Paper checks for Social Security were officially no longer used in March 2013, although there are exceptions for certain Social Security recipients.
CASHING OUT
Social Security beneficiaries receive varying benefits depending on their work history and how much they contributed to the program through payroll taxes over their lifetime.
Social Security uses a formula to calculate benefits, which takes into account the 35 highest-earning years of a person’s work history, adjusted for inflation.
The more an individual earns and the longer they work, the higher their Social Security benefits are likely to be.
Individuals who wait to retire until age 70 can receive up to $4,873 each month from Social Security.
This number decreases the earlier a beneficiary retires.
For example, the maximum monthly payment for an American who retires this year at their full retirement age, or FRA, is $3,822.
The FRA is based on a recipient’s birthyear:
- 1943–1954: age 66
- 1955–1959: age 66 and a certain number of months, increasing by two months each year:
- 1955: 66 and 2 months
- 1956: 66 and 4 months
- 1957: 66 and 6 months
- 1958: 66 and 8 months
- 1959: 66 and 10 months
- 1960 or later: age 67
Individuals who retire at age 62 in 2024 receive even less, with a maximum monthly payment of $2,710.
The U.S. Sun previously spoke to a Social Security expert to help Americans maximize their benefits.
She shared two common mistakes that can lose you $1,000s a month in Social Security and three tricks to plan ahead.
The expert also explained a trick that can earn you $26,000 more yearly.
