Social Security benefits increasing this month due to higher cost of living. Here's the payment calendar

Candy Woodall, USA TODAY
Social Security benefits increasing this month due to higher cost of living. Here's the payment calendar

Social Security recipients are getting a raise.

More than 71 million Americans will see a 3.2% increase in their Social Security checks in 2024. That increase, which adds an more than $50 a month on average, hit some checks Friday and will continue this month and throughout the year.

The raise is a cost-of-living adjustment the Social Security Administration says will help recipients keep up with expenses. It's the third year in a row inflation has prompted an increase in benefit payments, though the previous two years were larger: a historic 8.7% increase in 2023 and a 5.9% increase in 2022.

Americans receiving Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) will see the increase. People who receive both Social Security and SSI will see cost-of-living increases to both benefits.

As of November, the average monthly Social Security benefit was $1,711, and the average monthly SSI benefit was $674, according to the Social Security Administration. The cost-of-living adjustment would add to those amounts.

Social Security payment calendar

Social Security benefits are paid out based on the day of a recipient's birth.

For example:

  • Beneficiaries born from the 1st and 10th of the month will receive payments on the second Wednesday of the month. The first cost-of-living increase will be received in checks on Jan. 10.

  • Beneficiaries born from the 11th to the 20th of the month will receive payments on the third Wednesday of the month. The first cost-of-living increase will be received in checks on Jan. 17.

  • Beneficiaries born from the 21st to the 31st of the month will receive payments on the fourth Wednesday of the month. The first cost-of-living increase will be received in checks on Jan. 24.

SSI benefits are typically paid on the first of the month. But because Jan. 1 is a federal holiday, checks were distributed the Friday before. SSI recipients saw their first cost-of-living increase on Dec. 29.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Social Security benefits increasing in 2024. See the payment calendar

Advertisement