Social Security benefits January 2026 will shortly be available. The first checks of the new year will be sent to millions of Americans. The schedule has been verified by the Social Security Administration. Additionally, a 2.8% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) is being implemented for the first time this month. This implies that the average retiree might receive an additional $56 per month.
Birth dates determine the majority of Social Security benefits. Payments are made on January 14 for individuals born between January 1 and January 10, January 21 for those born between January 11 and January 20, and January 28 for those born between January 21 and January 31.
The Social Security Administration (SSA) upholds a monthly payment schedule that is determined on the basis the beneficiary’s date of birth. However, there are exceptions to this Social Security rule. Certain groups, depending on the nature of their benefits or the date they begin receiving them, follow a different schedule.
SSI beneficiaries receive preferential treatment. Payments arrive early on December 31 since January 1st is a federal holiday. On January 2, recipients of both Social Security and SSI will get their benefits. If the start of the following month falls on a Sunday, such as February 1, SSI payments also shift earlier at the end of the month, resulting in early deposits on January 30.
Who Will Get Social Security Payments?
According to the SSA, payments are normally made at the start of each month to individuals who were receiving benefits prior to May 1997 or who collect through supplemental programs. This positions them among the first groups to receive deposits in December.
Group 1: Social Security claimants who began receiving payments prior to May 1997. The SSA states that persons who started receiving retirement, disability, or survivor benefits before May 1997 are scheduled to receive their payments on the first working day of each month.
Group 2: Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiaries adjusted according to the calendar. While SSI generally disburses payments on the first of each month, if this date coincides with a weekend or federal holiday, the deposit is either advanced or postponed. The modification allows some SSI beneficiaries, especially those who receive SSI in addition to normal Social Security benefits, to receive their deposits on the same Wednesday.
How January Payments Are Scheduled?
Regular Social Security (Benefits for Retirement, Disability, and Survivor). Most Social Security payments are disbursed based on the beneficiary’s birth date not all at once. If you became eligible after May 1997, your payment date each month depends on when in the month you were born Birthdays:
- December 31, 2025 – Early SSI payments
- January 2, 2026 – Social Security payments for people who also get SSI
- January 14, 2026 – Recipients born between the 1st and 10th
- January 21, 2026 – Recipients born between the 11th and 20th
- January 28, 2026 – Recipients born between the 21st and 31st
SSI = Supplemental Security Income Payment for SSI recipients arrives on December 1st, unless it occurs on a weekend or holiday, in which case SSA sends it on the day before. In 2025, participants will get their normal SSI payment on Monday, December 1.
Early SSI Payment for January 2026. Because January 1, 2026, is a federal holiday (New Year’s Day), SSA will release the January SSI payment early, on Wednesday, December 31, 2025. As a result, some individuals, especially those receiving both SSI and Social Security benefits, may notice two distinct SSI deposits in December.
2.8% COLA Increase
The 2.8% COLA increase by the Social Security Administration will enhance monthly benefits for survivors, retirees, disabled workers, and SSI beneficiaries starting in January 2026. The average salary for a retired worker will increase by nearly $56, from roughly $2,015 to $2,071. The total payout for retired couples will increase from $3,303 this year to about $3,395.
Additionally, the monthly compensation for disabled workers will rise from almost $1,537 to almost $1,580. Benefits for widows and widowers will increase from $1,782 to around $1,832, accounting for the same 2.8% inflation adjustment. These revised amounts are intended to provide beneficiaries with a little more flexibility in their monthly budgets while mitigating the effects of growing prices.
The federal limit for SSI benefits will also increase, going from $943 to $969 for individuals and from $1,415 to $1,455 for couples. SSI beneficiaries will get their first COLA-adjusted 2026 payment early on December 31, 2025, due to January 1 being a federal holiday.