Millions of Americans will be receiving their monthly Social Security payment this week, with some receiving a little over $5,000.
Why It Matters
The Social Security Administration (SSA) pays out retirement, survivor and disability benefits to more than 70 million Americans every month.
Benefit Payments This Week
Retirement, spousal and survivor checks are distributed throughout the month, usually dependent on when you are born and whether you collect any other payments like Supplemental Security Income (SSI).
This week, retirement, survivor and spousal benefits will be paid out on Wednesday, May 21, to those born between the 11th and 20th of any month. This does not include any beneficiaries who also claim SSI who were paid earlier this month.
The SSA advises waiting three working days before contacting the agency if an expected payment has not arrived as scheduled.
How Much Is Social Security?
As of January 2025, the average monthly Social Security retirement benefit is $1,976. Maximum benefits depend on when you begin collecting. Retiring at age 62 yields up to $2,831 per month, while claiming at full retirement age (67) can bring in up to $4,018. If you wait until age 70, the maximum rises to $5,108. Actual benefit amounts vary based on your lifetime earnings and how much Social Security taxes you’ve paid.
For SSI, the maximum monthly benefit in 2025 is $967 for individuals and $1,450 for couples. However, your actual payment may be lower depending on your income, living arrangements, and other eligibility factors.
2026 COLA
Every year, the amount of Social Security benefits a person can receive can rise due to the cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, which raises payments in line with inflation to help keep up with rising prices. For 2025, benefits were raised by 2.5 percent.
The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) and independent Social Security and Medicare policy analyst Mary Johnson have both forecast that benefits will rise by 2.4 percent for 2026, slightly lower than 2025.
“While a COLA decrease may be viewed by some retirees as a bad thing, it’s actually a good one for the overall future economic outlook,” Alex Beene, financial literacy instructor for the University of Tennessee at Martin, previously told Newsweek. “The stabilization of COLA indicates that the pricing pressures of inflation are finally starting to [subside]. While seniors are undoubtedly still having to do more dollar counting than a few years ago, not having to dramatically increase beneficiary spending shows prices are stabilizing, even if they’re still higher than they were five years ago.”
The official COLA for 2026 will be announced by the SSA in October 2025.
Upcoming Payment Dates
If you’re still waiting for your monthly check, the SSA will make further payments on the following dates this month:
- Wednesday, May 28: Benefits for those with birthdays between the 21st and 31st.
- Friday, May 30: SSI payments for June. This payment will come slightly earlier than usual, as the regular payment date falls on a weekend.
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