Social Security benefits in Dec. 2025: Check out the full schedule of payments

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The U.S.’s Social Security Administration (SSA) is about to begin sending out benefits checks for December – the final month before increased payments are introduced in 2026.

As is customary each month, December’s disbursements are going out to retirees, recipients of survivor pay, and beneficiaries of Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI).

According to the SSA’s official payment schedule:

SSI benefits are distributed on the first day of each month.
Retirement, survivor and SSDI benefits for individuals who began receiving payments before May 1997 are sent on the third day of the month.
For those who receive both SSI and retirement/survivor/SSDI benefits, the former is paid on the first, and the latter on the third.

All other Social Security payments are issued on one of three Wednesdays in each month, based on the birth date of the worker who accrued the benefits entitlement:

Second Weds.: Birthdays between the 1st and 10th
Third Weds.: Birthdays between the 11th and 20th
Fourth Weds.: Birthdays between the 21st and 31st

If a scheduled payment date falls on a weekend or federal holiday, the SSA brings it forward to the nearest working day. This, for example, will be the case for SSI recipients in January 2026, as New Year’s Day is a holiday.

Dec. 2025 Social Security payment schedule:

Mon., Dec. 1: SSI recipients (Dec. payment)
Weds., Dec. 3: Retirement/survivor/SSDI beneficiaries since pre-May 1997; dual beneficiaries
Weds., Dec. 10: Birthdays between 1st and 10th
Weds., Dec. 17: Birthdays between 11th and 20th
Weds., Dec. 24: Birthdays between 21st and 31st
Weds., Dec. 31: SSI recipients (Jan. payment)

How much are SSA benefits in 2025?

The exact amount paid to each recipient of retirement checks varies, as payments are calculated based on factors such as an individual’s earnings history, and the age at which they began claiming their benefits.

In its most recent update, the SSA said retired workers receive an average of $2,008.31. The highest amount available to a retiree in 2025 is $5,108.

According to the SSA, disabled workers receive $1,582.95 a month on average, and recipients of survivor benefits are paid an average of $1,575.30 a month. SSI beneficiaries get an average of $717.84 a month, the SSA says.

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Paper checks no longer an option

As of September 30, the SSA says it has “in most cases” stopped issuing benefits in paper-check format. Beneficiaries who were still receiving physical checks must now switch to e-payment methods.

How much will benefits rise by in 2026?

Each year, the SSA implements a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA). In October, the agency announced that it is to apply a 2.8% COLA increase to benefits checks in 2026.

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