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

Candy Woodall, USA TODAY
Updated ·2 min read
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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