Overview
- January retirement benefits will be paid Jan. 14 for birthdays on the 1st–10th, Jan. 21 for the 11th–20th, and Jan. 28 for the 21st–31st, per the SSA calendar.
- Recipients who started benefits before May 1997 or who also receive SSI follow different timing, with SSI and linked Social Security checks issued Dec. 31 and Jan. 2.
- The 2.8% 2026 cost-of-living adjustment is now in effect, lifting the average retirement benefit by about $56 a month and raising the top monthly payment to $5,251, per SSA estimates.
- Because Feb. 1 falls on a weekend, February’s SSI payment will be sent on Friday, Jan. 30, under standard timing rules.
- Analysts continue to warn that, without congressional action, Social Security may be unable to pay full benefits around 2034.