Certain Social Security recipients up and down the country will receive their August payment this week.
More than 75.7 million Americans received either Social Security, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), or both in July, according to the SSA’s latest monthly data. Around 71.3 million received Social Security benefits, including retirement, survivor and spousal benefits.
But not every beneficiary gets their money on the same day, with a staggered schedule determining when benefits will arrive.
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Next Payment Date
Payments will be issued on Wednesday, August 26 to eligible retirement, survivor and spousal benefit beneficiaries whose birthdays fall between the 21st and 31st of any month, according to the SSA’s 2026 payment calendar.
The payment will be the last of the three regular Wednesday Social Security payment rounds for August. Earlier payments went out on August 12 to people born from the 1st through the 10th and on August 19 to those born from the 11th through the 20th.
Recipients who started collecting Social Security before May 1997, along with those receiving both Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI), were paid their August benefits earlier this month. Individual SSI payments were also made at the start of August.
Beneficiaries whose payment does not arrive on its scheduled date are advised not to contact the SSA immediately and are advised to wait three working days before reporting a missing payment.
Upcoming Payment Dates
For September, payments will be made on the following dates:
- Tuesday, September 1: Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients are paid.
- Thursday, September 3: Beneficiaries who began receiving Social Security before May 1997, or who receive both Social Security and SSI, are paid.
- Wednesday, September 9: Payments for beneficiaries with birthdays between the 1st and 10th.
- Wednesday, September 16: Payments for beneficiaries with birthdays between the 11th and 20th.
- Wednesday, September 23: Payments for beneficiaries with birthdays between the 21st and 31st.
How Much Could Recipients Get?
The amount a person receives depends on factors including their lifetime earnings and, for retirement benefits, the age at which they begin claiming.
Someone who earned the maximum amount subject to Social Security taxes throughout their career and begins collecting retirement benefits at age 70 in 2026 could receive as much as $5,181 per month, according to the SSA. The maximum for someone claiming at full retirement age is $4,152, while a person claiming at age 62 could receive a maximum of $2,969.
Most beneficiaries receive considerably less.
As of July, the average retired worker received $2,085.98 per month, while the overall average Social Security benefit across all beneficiary groups was $1,940.08. Disabled workers received an average of $1,635.27.
Social Security benefits received a 2.8 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for 2026, intended to help payments keep pace with inflation.
Social Security COLA
Attention is increasingly turning toward the size of the 2027 COLA, which will be announced this fall.
July’s inflation reading provided the first of the three data points that will determine next year’s increase. The Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W), which is the inflation measure used to calculate the COLA, was 3.4 percent higher in July 2026 than a year earlier.
The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) is projecting the 2027 COLA will be 3.6 percent, down from 3.8 percent, while AARP made an estimate of 3.5 percent. The combination of July, August and September CPI-W figures will determine where the final adjustment lands, with the SSA announcing the official figure in mid-October.
Legislation To Stop Social Security Garnishment
A bill has been proposed by Vermont Independent Senator Bernie Sanders that would prevent the federal government from garnishing Social Security benefits to collect defaulted federal student loan debt.
The proposed Stop Social Security Garnishment Act would protect retirement and disability payments from such collections. More than 3 million Americans over age 62 have student loan debt, according to information cited by Sanders’ office, while roughly 9 million to 9.5 million federal student loan borrowers are currently in default.
Under existing federal rules, defaulted student loan debt can be collected through the Treasury Offset Program. The government can generally withhold the lesser of 15 percent of a person’s Social Security benefit or the amount that leaves the recipient with $750 a month. That $750 floor has not kept pace with inflation, meaning offsets can potentially leave some lower-income beneficiaries with payments well below current poverty levels.
The bill is expected to be formally introduced when the Senate returns from its summer recess in September.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: John Fitzpatrick and James Debens
