If you are one of the millions of Americans who receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) from the Social Security Administration (SSA), you will receive two checks this month, the second of which will be somewhat larger than the first. SSI pays monthly benefits to approximately 7.5 million low-income persons who have a handicap or are 65 or older. While referred to as monthly payments, a quirk in the timetable causes two checks to be issued in March, June, September, and December, with no checks made in the months immediately following; April, July, October, and January. In all other months, recipients receive a single check.
In December, SSI beneficiaries will receive checks on December 1 and December 29, albeit the amount received on the second check should be slightly greater. The first check, which will be issued on December 1, will have a maximum value of $914 for an individual and $1,371 for a couple. The second check, however, will reflect the Social Security Administration’s 2024 cost-of-living adjustment, with maximums of $943 for an individual and $1,415 for a couple.
Social Security benefits and SSI payments are subject to an annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) based on inflation rates
Those who have set up direct deposit should receive their payment on the planned date, while those who have received checks in the mail should wait three more mailing days before calling the agency about late checks. To ensure that monthly payments keep up with rising prices, Social Security benefits and SSI payments are subject to an annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) based on inflation rates. The SSA announced in October that beneficiaries will get a 3.2% rise in 2024, increasing the average monthly Social Security benefit payment by more than $50 and the maximum SSI payment by $30.
Those receiving Social Security benefits will begin receiving higher payments in January, while those receiving SSI will begin receiving them on December 29. In early December, the SSA will begin mailing notifications to beneficiaries of their revised monthly benefit amount. Cost-of-living adjustments are calculated using third-quarter data from the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) — July, August, and September. Inflation for those three months is added together, averaged, and then compared to the previous year’s third-quarter average, with the percentage difference acting as the COLA rate for the following year.
In recent years, the influence of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on inflation has resulted in unusually high adjustments, including a 5.9% increase in 2022 and an 8.7% increase in 2023, the biggest increase in four decades. Inflationary pressures have reduced the 2024 adjustment to 3.2%, which is more in line with the 2.6% average yearly increase witnessed over the last two decades. According to the SSA, approximately 67 million Americans will receive Social Security payments each month in 2023, totalling more than $1.4 trillion in benefits awarded during the year. According to the administration, Social Security benefits account for approximately 30% of income for Americans aged 65 and older.