With the beginning of the new year, millions of Americans will soon receive their Social Security benefits. According to the SSA, the first payments for Social Security will come on Friday, January 2, 2026. This payment will be delivered to a specific group of beneficiaries under the SSA’s monthly payment cycle.
For millions of retirees, people with disabilities, and Supplemental Security Income recipients, this first payment will be significant. Not only are these payments the first ones for the new year, but they will also include the newly implemented COLA (Cost-of-Living Adjustment) for 2026.
The Social Security Expansion Act, intro’d by @SenSanders today, would:
– Make Social Security solvent for the next 75 years.
– Lift millions of seniors out of poverty
– Expand benefits for seniors and people with disabilities by $2400 a year pic.twitter.com/TazAczzTP2
— Social Security Works ❌👑 (@SSWorks) February 27, 2025
However, not everyone will receive their payment on January 2. The payments will only be made to beneficiaries who began receiving Social Security before May 1997. These benefits would include:
- Social Security retirement benefits
- Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI)
- Benefits for the survivors
- Supplemental Security Income. These benefits are for older adults with low income and individuals with disabilities. These benefits are combined with Social Security Payments.
Usually, these payments are released on the 3rd of the month. However, January 3 falls on the weekend. According to the payment policy of SSA, if the payment date falls on a federal holiday or a weekend, the payment is made a day prior. As a result, the payments scheduled for January 3, 2026, are being released a day prior on January 2, Friday.
In October 2025, the latest COLA numbers were released, thereby increasing the Social Security and SSI benefits by 2.8%. These extra dollars will be added to the payment due on January 2, 2026.
The COLA or Cost-of-Living Adjustment to SSDI and SSI is applied annually to offset the effects of inflation on the cost of essential amenities such as groceries.
☝️Remember – there’s a 2.8% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for disability compensation and survivor benefit rates. You’ll see the change in payments starting January 1, 2026. Review 2026 Veterans disability compensation rates by visiting https://t.co/OJq8Ct8CFW pic.twitter.com/lEBeVqyD2h
— Veterans Affairs (@DeptVetAffairs) December 30, 2025
For many beneficiaries, this means that there could be a meaningful boost to their monthly income.
Retirees will see their average benefits increase by about $56 per month. This will begin in January. SSI recipients will also receive adjusted payments. However, the updated SSI check with COLA raise was released on December 31, 2025, as January 1 was a federal holiday.
Almost 75 million Americans will be affected by an increase in benefits.
There are several million beneficiaries who will not receive their checks on January 2, 2026. For such people, the payment dates for January depend on their birthdate.
- January 14: people with their birthdays from January 1 to January 10.
- January 21: Individuals whose birthday falls between the 11th and the 20th
- January 28: Dates of payments for people with birthdays between 21st and 31st
The Social Security payments are divided based on the birthday dates to avoid too many checks or payments going out at the same time and to avoid any distribution issues.
For people living on a fixed income with Social Security benefits, these distribution dates and the COLA adjustments are very important, as based on these, families could make a proper budget, and it could help them pay their bills on time.
