Social Security benefits will be paid starting August 1 for some beneficiaries. However, the date of your payment will vary depending on what kinds of benefits you are receiving and your date of birth. We have consulted the Social Security Administration for the information you need to help you plan your budget.
The Social Security Administration
The United States Social Security Administration is a federal agency that administers the country’s social insurance program, known as Social Security. This program offers benefits for retirement, disability, survivors, and supplemental income. Funding for these benefits comes from payroll taxes paid by employers and workers and from investment in interest-bearing U.S. Treasury securities.
Social Security is the largest government program, spending about $1.24 trillion a year, 99% of which is used to pay benefits to approximately 70.6 million people. The average monthly Social Security check is $1,767.03.
Types of Social Security Benefits
Social Security benefits are intended to help prevent poverty for elderly people, survivors, and the disabled. Four different kinds of benefits are available, but you must apply for them in order to receive them.
- Retirement. These benefits can begin as early as 62 years old if you have paid Social Security taxes for 10 or more years. The benefit amount depends on what age you retire and how much you have paid into the system in payroll taxes over the years.
- Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI). People who are not able to work for a year or more because of a disability can draw this benefit, providing they have paid Social Security taxes for at least 5 years out of the previous 10 or have a disability that limits or prevents them from working for a year or more.
- Survivors benefits. Spouses or dependents of an eligible worker can draw benefits based on the composition of their household and the taxes paid into the system by the deceased.
- Supplemental Security Income (SSI). Adults or children with a disability or adults 65 and older with limited income can receive this benefit to help pay for rent, food, clothing, medicine, and other basic needs.
Social Security Payment Dates for August 2024
You can find all of this year’s payment dates for Social Security in the SSA’s Schedule of Social Security Benefit Payments 2024. Benefits are paid on different dates depending on your date of birth. If you don’t get your benefit check by the date listed below, wait three days, then contact the Social Security Administration.
Retirement and Disability Benefits
The payment date for these benefits depends on what day of the month the beneficiary’s birthday falls on. If you are drawing survivor’s benefits, the payment dates will be based on your deceased loved one’s birth date.
- August 14: Beneficiaries born between the 1st and the 10th
- August 21: Beneficiaries born between the 11th and 20th
- August 28: Beneficiaries born between the 21st and the 31st
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits
SSI benefits are paid on the 1st of the month. If the 1st falls on a weekend, the payments go out the Friday before the 1st.
- August 1: Regular payment for eligible recipients
- August 30: The September payment will be sent out because September 1st falls on a weekend.
Retirement Benefit Payment Date Exception
If you started drawing Social Security benefits before May 1997 or if you are receiving both Social Security and Supplemental Security Income, your SSI will be mailed out on the 1st and your Social Security on the 3rd. If either of these dates falls on a weekend, the payment will be made on the immediately preceding Friday. If this is your situation, these dates apply to you:
- August 1: SSI benefit payment
- August 2: Retirement benefit payment (moved to Friday because the 3rd is on a weekend)
Social Security News
Starting September 30, 2024, the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) rental subsidy policy will be changed so that rental assistance and food are less likely to affect your SSI eligibility or payment amount.
Currently, if you rent living space for less than the fair market value, the Social Security Administration will reduce your SSI payment by up to 1/3. Under the new rule, the SSA will consider this to be a business arrangement if you are paying the SSI Presumed Maximum Value amount, which in 2024 is set at $314 a month. In that case, your SSI amount will not be lowered.
Another change is related to food. If you live in someone’s home, such as your adult children, and they feed you free of charge, the value of that food will no longer be deducted from your SSI payments.
These changes will be very welcome to some of the people who are struggling financially the most.
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