Overview

• SSI pays on Oct. 1 for October benefits and again on Oct. 31 for November due to the calendar timing, according to the SSA schedule.
• Retirees who began receiving benefits before 1997, and those who get both Social Security and SSI, are slated for deposits on Oct. 3.
• Regular retirement payments follow birth-date waves: Oct. 8 (1st–10th), Oct. 15 (11th–20th), and Oct. 22 (21st–31st).
• Starting with October, the SSA has stopped paper checks and will deliver all benefits electronically via direct deposit or Direct Express.
• Recipients are advised to allow three business days for deposits, and the SSA’s 2026 COLA announcement is expected in October for January payments.