Some Social Security recipients could receive extra checks next month, but this isn’t a new phenomenon.
For those who usually receive Social Security benefits, the cause for the extra checks this month is due to a minor fluke in the benefits calendar system and is not out of the ordinary, USA Today reported.
The quirk affects those who receive Supplemental Security Income — a program that pays monthly benefits to people with lower incomes, older than 65 or have a qualifying disability. The program benefits are separate from Social Security benefits, which are based on earnings. However, both are administered by the Social Security Administration.
The recipients of SSI typically receive their benefits on the first of every month. When the first of the month falls on a weekend or a federal holiday, individuals receive their benefits the weekday before.
Next month, recipients will get their benefits check on Nov. 1 as expected, but because Dec. 1 falls on a Sunday, they will also get their December check on Nov. 30. Recipients will also get their January 2025 check on Dec. 31 instead of Jan. 1 because of New Year’s Day.
Those who receive both SSI and Social Security benefits may get three checks next month if their birth date is between the 21st and 31st of a month. Social Security benefits are paid on the second, third and fourth Wednesday of the month depending on an individual's birth date. Individuals born between the 1st and 10th, and 11th and 20th of the month receive their benefits on the second and third Wednesday of the month respectively.
This isn’t the first time people have received extra checks in a month. The same happened this past August and May because the first of the following months occurred on a weekend.
