Some Social Security recipients will get two checks this month. Here's why
Some people eligible for benefits will receive their January checks in December thanks to how the calendar falls
William Thomas Cain
Some Social Security recipients will be seeing double this month as they receive two checks instead of the usual one.
Suggested Reading
The unusual move is due to holiday closures will cause a reshuffling of checks, specifically for those who receive Supplemental Security Income disbursements. Those checks are given to older Americans who have little to no income and to people who are disabled.
Related Content
SSI checks are sent on the first of the month. (Technically, they're not sent at all, as the Social Security Administration [SSA] stopped mailing paper benefits checks as of Sept. 30, switching over to electronic payments only.) Because Jan. 1 is a federal holiday, however, the government will disburse the January benefits on Dec. 31.
The reshuffling will impact roughly 7.4 million people. Benefit totals for people who receive SSI payments — as well as those who receive other Social Security benefits — will increase by 2.8% starting with the January payment. On average, the SSA says, that will work out to an extra $56 per month.
Standard Social Security recipients will receive their benefits as usual in January. Those are distributed on the second, third or fourth Wednesday of the month, depending on the recipient's birthday.
SSI recipients, meanwhile, will see a repeat of this calendar quirk a number of times in 2026. In July, they'll receive two disbursements, since Aug. 1 falls on a Saturday. October will double up as well, with benefits going out on Oct. 1 and Oct. 30, since Nov. 1 is on a Sunday. And, because Jan. 1 will fall on a Friday next year, those benefits will go out on Dec. 31 again at the end of the year.
In addition, benefits for February and March will go out at the end of the preceding month, as the first falls on a weekend day.