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Retirement

Social Security

When Social Security Recipients Will Get Their Checks in December

Social Security check sticking out of an envelope

Olive Burd / Money; Getty Images

It's the holiday season — and changes to the December Social Security payment schedule could bring you a modest gift in the form of slightly earlier delivery of your benefits.

Roughly 68 million Americans receive Social Security benefits every month, including about 9 out of every 10 people age 65 and up. Social Security funds aren't just for older folks, though. Payments go out to retirees, survivors of late workers, those with little to no resources, disabled workers, the blind, dependents and more.

The average payments for those various groups of people vary, but data from October shows the typical retirement benefit was just under $1,876.

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When will I get my December Social Security payment?

Your Social Security payment date is determined by your birthday.

If you were born on the first through the 10th of the month, you can expect to get your Social Security check on the second Wednesday of every month — in this case, Dec. 11.

If you were born on the 11th through the 20th of the month, you can expect to get your Social Security check on the third Wednesday of every month — in this case, Dec. 18.

If you were born on the 21st through the 31st, you can usually expect to get your Social Security check on the fourth Wednesday of every month. But because this year that's Christmas Day, a federal holiday, distribution has been moved up to Dec. 24.

Supplemental Security Income, or SSI, payments typically go out on the first of the month. December SSI checks are also on a slightly different schedule this year, though: Because the first falls on a Sunday, the payments were moved up to Friday (Nov. 29).

Folks who get both SSI and Social Security, as well those who initially claimed Social Security prior to May 1997, should get their Social Security benefits on the third of the month as per usual.

There's also an SSI quirk toward the end of December. The regularly scheduled January 2025 SSI payment date would fall on New Year's Day, which is — say it with us — a federal holiday. So distribution will take place on Dec. 31.

Where is my December Social Security payment?

Check the payment schedule above.

If you think your money is missing, you can reach out to the Social Security Administration (SSA). The SSA has both local offices and a toll-free national number. The national phone number is 1-800-772-1213. Representatives are available weekdays from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. local time. Pro tip: The agency says wait times are shortest in the morning, late in the week and late in the month.

In any case, the SSA asks that you wait three mailing days before contacting it about a missing Social Security payment.

What is the SSA payment schedule for 2025?

You can find the SSA's 2025 payment calendar on its website. It largely follows the schedule laid out above, but as you can tell, some months are different. For instance, SSI checks for February will go out on Jan. 31, the ones for March will go out on Feb. 28, and then there won't be another SSI payment until April.

To learn more about your payment status or to get additional help with Medicare, retirement benefits, disability, SSI and more, make a "my Social Security" account for free at SSA.gov.

When will the 2025 COLA take effect?

Every year, the government makes a cost-of-living adjustment to Social Security benefits so as to keep up with inflation. Called COLA, this "raise" of sorts is announced each October and is effective for the following year.

The Social Security COLA for 2025 is 2.5%, which shakes out to an average increase of about $50 per month. To find out exactly what your COLA is, you can log into your "my Social Security account" or check the mail — the government will be sending out letters about your new benefit amounts in early December.

Although most beneficiaries won't get the COLA until the 2025 calendar year has begun, 7.5 million Americans who get SSI will have a head start. They'll get the 2025 COLA in their SSI payments Dec. 31.

How do I calculate my Social Security payment?

Benefits are generally calculated according to your average indexed monthly earnings, which include up to 35 years of your highest-earning years. The SSA then applies a formula to determine your primary insurance amount.

The amount of money retirees actually receive depends partially on their age. Though you can start getting Social Security retirement payments at 62 years old, the longer you wait to claim Social Security, the higher your payments will be (until age 70, when the increases stop).

For many Americans, this money is crucial — Social Security accounts for about 30% of the income received by folks over age 65. As people live longer and legislators wrestle over future of Social Security, the cost of retirement for retirees is surging: In 2022, federal data shows retired households spent an average of $54,975, including $11,186 on shelter, $8,065 on transportation and $7,505 on health care.