August 13 SSA payment reaches Americans born between the 1st and 10th, here’s what to expect

Every month, the Social Security Administration (SSA) sends out millions of payments to their beneficiaries, the overwhelming majority of which are retirement beneficiaries. The SSA adheres to a strict and rigorous schedule to ensure that payments are not only distributed smoothly but also so that recipients have a predictable payment schedule to plan their expenses around. Tomorrow, certain beneficiaries who qualify can expect to receive their payments from the SSA.

The SSA adheres to a strict payment schedule

The SSA supports approximately 70 million beneficiaries who receive payments from the SSA retirement fund, Supplemental Security Income, and Disability. The date you receive your payment is dependent upon which of these funds you receive payments from, whether or not you receive payments from more than one fund, your birthdate, as well as the year in which you claimed your benefits.

The general payment schedule the SSA adheres to is as follows:

• The second Wednesday of the month: Birth dates between the first and the 10th of the month.
• The third Wednesday of the month: Birth dates between the 11th and 20th of the month.
• The fourth Wednesday of the month: Birth dates between the 21st and 31st of the month.

However, if you are an SSI recipient, this standard scheduling is not applicable to you. SSI-only recipients are generally paid on the first of every month while beneficiaries who receive both SSI and retirement benefits are paid on the third of every month. In addition, beneficiaries who claimed their retirement benefits before May 1997 are also paid on the third of every month. Note that payment dates may shift when the first falls on a holiday or weekend.

Who will receive their SSA payment tomorrow?

While SSI beneficiaries should have already had their benefits distributed to them, tomorrow, August 13, marks the distribution of the first round of SSA benefits for those who are paid according to the general payment schedule. According to the Social Security payment schedule, SSA beneficiaries who have a birthdate between the first and tenth of any given month will receive their benefits tomorrow.

Of these beneficiaries, a select few will receive the maximum Social Security payment amounting to $5,181. With the average SSA retirement benefit paid out to beneficiaries amounting to approximately $2,000 these beneficiaries who receive the maximum payment had to meet specific qualifying criteria in order to max out their monthly payments.

Waiting to claim benefits until you are 70 years old is the key criteria to claim the maximum benefit. While you are allowed to claim your retirement benefits from the SSA as early as 62 years old, the SSA rewards beneficiaries with higher monthly payments if they delay claiming their benefits. However, after 70 years old, there is no additional benefit for you if you delay any further past this age.

Who will receive an additional payment this month?

This month, SSI-only recipients will be receiving an extra payment from the SSA. However, it is important that beneficiaries bear in mind that this payment is not a ‘bonus’ payment but is in actuality an advance on their September SSI payment. While the SSA does not usually deviate from their schedule, they will advance payment dates for beneficiaries if the anticipated payment date falls on a holiday or weekend. Since September 1 is Labor Day, September benefits will be paid on August 29.

The maximum SSI payment for single filers is $967 while the maximum SSI payment for married couples filing jointly amounts to $1,450. In order to qualify for SSI payments, you need to have little to no income and/or resources Generally speaking, this benefit is reserved for those individuals who earn an income less than $2,019 per month. Your resources cannot exceed $2,000 as an individual filer and cannot exceed $3,000 as a married couple filing jointly. You also generally need to demonstrate that you have a disability.

Disclaimer: This content is informational only and does not supersede or replace the SSA’s or IRS’s own publications and notices. Always verify any specific dates and amounts by following the direct links in our article to SSA.gov or IRS.gov, or by consulting your local SSA field office or tax professional.