Social Security Checks Paid Twice in December 2025: In December, social security checks will not be doubled to all, but a group of 1 particular group will receive two payments in December of 2025 due to the effects of both the calendar effect and the federal holiday effect. They are not bonus checks, one of the payments is an advance check on next month.
Who will get two checks in December?
This will be limited to two SSI payments to be received by only those people who receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) in December 2025. Frequent Social Security retirement, survivor and SSDI recipients will continue to receive only one monthly installment on their regular basis.
Group getting 2 payments: SSI recipients (low-income seniors, the blind, and low-income and limited-resource disabled adults or children).
Exempt: The two checks will not be received by the people who only get Social Security retirement, survivor or SSDI benefits in December.
Individuals receiving both social security and SSI will receive the regular Social Security income plus two deposits of SSI.
In most news reports this is referred to as two Social Security checks in December, however, this is not really an additional benefit but two SSI payments.
December 2025 Payment Dates for SSI
SSI is typically computed on the first of every month in the year 2025, however, when the 1 st is on a weekend or a federal holiday, the Social Security Administration (SSA) makes payments on the last business day before the 1 st. It is due to this rule that SSI recipients will have two deposits in December 2025.
Key December 2025 SSI Dates
December 1, 2025: Routine December SSI payment.
December 31, 2025: Early January 2026 SSI payment, but this payment is advanced due to it being a federal holiday on January 1.
It is therefore the early payment of the January check, not a bonus or special holiday pay.
SSI Double Payment 2025 Calendar Rule
This is the case with the SSA whenever the first of the month falls on the weekend or a federal holiday. This is the reason why SSI beneficiaries have been receiving two payments in other months such as May or October in the past years when the same calendar scenario occurred. The deposit made is at the beginning of the next month. All SSI payments on January 1, 2026, will be zero, since this benefit has been paid on December 31, 2025.
Who is paid twice in December?
Social Security and SSI payment in December 2025.
This table indicates that the situation of the double payment is not universal to all kinds of Social Security, but only SSI.
Why the checks are paid twice?
The primary cause of the two SSI checks in December is federal holiday schedule and not new benefit program or special legislation. The SSA is required to make sure that money is available to be paid with the beginning of the month, even when the banks are not open.
The January 1, 2026, New Year Day is a federal holiday, and therefore the January SSI payment will be transferred to December 31, 2025. The SSA applies the same type of adjustments in the instances of the 1 st of the month being on a Saturday or Sunday, shifting the payments to the previous Friday.
Such a system of scheduling is not new; it is presented in SSA payment schedules and online descriptions of SSI beneficiaries.
What is the amount that SSI recipients will receive?
The precise value of each SSI check is determined by the federal rate of benefits and, in certain states, other state supplements. As of 2025-2026, then the SSI payment also includes the 2.8% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) which starts with benefits due in January.
- The current payment of 2025 SSI (without the new COLA) is shown in December 1.
- The January 2026 payment of December 31 indicates the increased rate of 2026 of SSI with the addition of the 2.8% COLA rate.
It implies that the second December check will be slightly increased as compared to the first check due to the new COLA raise.
Important Advice for SSI Recipients
Although two checks of SSI come in December, it is but one month of December benefits and one month of January benefits. Using both of the deposits like extra income will leave a tough cash crunch in January.
- Imagine that the December 31 payment will be your January 2026 check, not holiday money.
- Calculate out a budget to distribute this payment evenly throughout the entire month of January, since no new SSI deposit is going to happen at the beginning of January.
Others who support this say most of them might interpret this as a bonus and later on in the month they will have a hard time because they will not receive the next SSI until February 1, 2026.
What about regular Social Security Payments?
Individuals receiving retirement, survivor, or SSDI benefits of Social Security do not receive a second check when SSI recipients receive theirs. They pay in accordance with the standard Wednesday schedule that is dependent on the day of the month they were born.
- Dates on the 1st -10th: paid on the second Wednesday of December.
- On the 11th-20th: paid on the Third Wednesday of December.
- On 21st -31st: paid on the fourth Wednesday of December.
These are also based on the typical COLA beginning with the initial benefit payment in 2026, however, the double check regulation is inapplicable to typical social security benefits.
Fact Check: Two social security checks in December 2025.
Claim: Every Social Security beneficiary will get two checks in December 2025.
Fact: False. Two payments are made to SSI recipients only in December; normal Social Security retirement, survivor, and SSDI payment in December according to the normal Wednesday schedule.
Claim: It is claimed that the second December payment is a bonus payment or special holiday payment.
Fact: False. The January 2026 payment that is made early due to the federal holiday of January 1 is the December 31, 2025 SSI payment.
Claim: SSI recipients will have an augmented amount of money on their second payment during December.
Fact: True. The payment of December 31 reflects the 2.8 percent COLA increase that will be offered on SSI benefits in 2026 hence it is a little higher than the December 1 check.
Claim: No SSI payment will be recorded on January 1, 2026.
Fact: True. Under the rule of weekends and holidays of SSA, that payment is transferred to December 31, 2025.
FAQ’s About Social Security Checks Paid Twice in December 2025
Who is going to receive two checks in December 2025?
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients will receive 2 SSI payments, one on December 1 and another on December 31, 2025.
Is this the case with all Social Security recipients?
No. The Social Security retirement, survivor and SSDI figures receive a single payment on their regular payday of Wednesday in December.
Is the second December check bonus?
No. The early payment of the January 2026 SSI benefit on December 31 is the early payment of the benefit due to the New Year holiday.
Is there an increase in my second check of SSI in December?
Yes, in most cases. It represents the new 2.8% COLA as of 2026, hence needs to be a somewhat larger amount than the December 1 payment.
Will I get the two checks in January after getting two checks in December?
You are not entitled to receive an SSI payment on January 1, 2026, since you received the benefit relating to the same month on December 31, 2025.
What about in case I fail to receive one of the payments?
First, go and check your bank account or Direct Express card and then give it some time to process. In case the payment has not been received, call the SSA or your bank to find out.
Does this have an influence on individuals who are paid both Social Security and SSI?
Yes. Individuals receiving both will receive their standard payment of Social Security on the normal payment date and two additional payments of SSI on December and January.
Will this occur again with this pattern of double-payment?
Yes. Each month where the first is a weekend or federal holiday, SSI payments that month are shifted to the last day of the previous month and may result in future years having two months in a row with equal payment.