Social Security Payments Scheduled From April 10

A Social Security card sits alongside checks from the U.S. Treasury in Washington on Oct. 14, 2021. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Many Social Security beneficiaries will start receiving their monthly benefits for April from this week onwards, with others having to wait a week or two longer.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) usually pays benefits based on the birth date of beneficiaries.

In April 2024, people born between 1 and 10 of the month get paid on the 10th. People born between 11 and 20 get paid on the 17th, and those born between 21 and 31 get paid on the 24th.

An exception applies to beneficiaries receiving Social Security benefits since before May 1997 or those who receive both Social Security and supplemental security income (SSI). For these, Social Security income is paid on the 3rd of every month.

“If you don’t receive your payment on the expected date, please allow three additional mailing days before contacting Social Security,” SSA stated. Beneficiaries can contact the agency at 1-800-772-1213 between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. local time, Monday through Friday. The local SSA office’s phone number can be found on this page.

“Wait times to speak to a representative are typically shorter in the morning, later in the week, and later in the month. Our automated telephone services are available 24 hours a day and do not require you to wait to speak with a representative,” the agency said.

Social Security payments for 2024 got a 3.2 percent hike as part of the cost-of-living adjustments, meaning that over 71 million beneficiaries will see higher checks this year. This is the third consecutive year of COLA hikes due to the elevated inflation rate, with benefits jumping 8.7 percent in 2023, and 5.7 percent in 2022.

Due to the hike, average monthly benefit payments this year rose by $59 to $1,907. The maximum payment to a beneficiary turning full retirement age in 2024 (66 up to 67, depending on birth date) is $3,822, up from $3,627 last year.

For individuals retiring at age 62 this year, the maximum benefit paid is $2,710. For those retiring at 70 years of age in 2024, the maximum benefit is $4,873.

Despite COLA increases, the increases may not be enough for some retirees to offset high inflation.

The Senior Citizens League has warned that over two-thirds of older American citizens said their monthly budget for essentials like food, housing, and medication was 10 percent higher than a year ago, far exceeding the 3.2 percent COLA hike.

“Housing, motor vehicle insurance, the cost of hospitals and care of invalids at home—these are the savings-draining black holes even when inflation is low,” Mary Johnson, a policy analyst with the group, said in a statement. “Yet these are the very categories seeing the most persistent and painful inflation right now.”

Hike in 2025, Tax Issues

Another COLA hike may happen in 2025.

“The January CPI-W (Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers) came in at 2.9 percent. That’s higher than the inflation trends indicated last month based on December CPI-W data.

“Based on this trend, The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) is adjusting the long-term forecast COLA to 1.75 percent in 2025,” the group said in a February press release.

COLA estimates keep changing according to new inflation data and can go up or down throughout the year.

The group’s 2024 Senior Survey found that 38 percent of respondents expressed worries that 2024 COLA adjustments will fall short of inflation.

COLA adjustments boost income but can also create new headaches in the form of higher taxes.

For instance, the 8.7 percent COLA hike in 2023 raised average payments to $1,827 a month instead of $1,681, potentially pushing some beneficiaries into a taxable category.

A survey conducted by The Senior Citizens League found that as high as 26 percent of the respondents who received Social Security for over three years reported paying taxes on a portion of these benefits for the first ever time during the 2022 tax year.

In an Oct. 12 press release, the organization pointed out that the income thresholds of Social Security subject to taxation have never been adjusted for inflation.

Social Security increases can “bump more retirees into the thresholds that trigger the tax on their Social Security benefits and can increase the portion of benefits that may be taxable,” the group said.

Meanwhile, Social Security payments may be reduced in the next decade due to funding issues.

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) said that if the gap between the Social Security fund outlays and incomes occurs as expected, “the balance in the trust funds will decline to zero in 2033 and the Social Security Administration will no longer be able to pay full benefits when they are due.”

If Social Security outlays were limited to what is payable from annual tax revenues, payments would be roughly 23 percent smaller than originally scheduled by 2034, CBO calculated.