It’s good news for the social security recipients in America as they are finally going to receive their cost-of-living adjustment (COLA). However, not everyone will receive the benefits together as the government calendar is dividing the beneficiaries in two sections. One section, which is the relatively smaller one, will receive the benefits on December 31 and others will receive the same in January.
The reason behind this divide in payment is the Social Security Administration’s calendar and the kind of payment. SSI recipients receive their payments on the 1st of every month. Every time, this date falls on a weekend or a federal holiday, the weekday, prior becomes the date of distribution for the benefits.
Since 1st January is a holiday, the SSI benefits will be distributed on Dec 31, 2025. It should be noted that the 2.8% COLA for 2026 was announced by SSA last month.
The increase percentage is slightly higher than the 2.5% of the previous year. The increase is mainly made to help Supplemental Security Income beneficiaries and retirees to cope with rising cost of living and health care. Since 2025 has seen inflation almost throughout the year, the COLA had to be increased.
View this post on Instagram
Beneficiaries of SSDI include survivors, retirees, and disability recipients, and they will receive their checks in January, 2026. The day of the payment depends on SSA’s standard Wednesday payment schedule. For instance, those with birthdays between 1st–10th will receive their increased benefits check on the second Wednesday. Those with birthdays between 11th–20th and 21st–31st will receive their increased checks on the third and fourth Wednesday, respectively.
Therefore, most recipients of the checks will need to wait till the middle of January to receive the benefits. As reported by Grada3, “The 2.8% COLA adjustment will see the average beneficiary receiving under $2,008 per month get an additional $56 per month starting in January.”
“Today’s Social Security COLA is inadequate for 3 reasons” from Teresa Ghilarducci (New School). “Today’s Social Security COLA means that about 75 million Americans…will be receiving a 2.8% Social Security COLA increase (an average of $52 per month).” https://t.co/U4ft4jMv4E pic.twitter.com/C3RodBvK43
— LERA (@LERassn) November 20, 2025
SSI beneficiaries will also get a rise on their maximum payments. Individual beneficiaries will see a rise from $967 to $994 per month, whereas for the couples the number is $1,450 to $1,491 per month.
While the rise in COLA might be helpful to some, Shannon Benton, executive director of The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) opines otherwise. Shortly after the increased percentage was announced, Benton wrote, “The 2026 COLA is going to hurt for seniors. Year after year, they warn that Social Security’s meager increases won’t be enough, and the Census Bureau estimates that about 10 percent of retirement-age Americans live in poverty.”
While the amount of the increment might not be much, the recipients of these benefits are now eagerly waiting for the money to get credited. Unfortunately, some will have to wait more than others as not everyone will receive the increased amount together.
