Some Social Security recipients across the country will receive a double payment this month after June Supplemental Social Security Income (SSI) payments were brought forward to this week.
Monthly SSI payments are usually made on the 1st of each month, but the date may change if that date falls on a weekend or bank holiday. This year, June 1st falls on a Saturday, so the SSI payment that would have been paid on that day will be sent on May 31st. This means that recipients will receive two payments in the same month.
read more: Compare the best high-yield savings accounts to grow your savings
This year, this is expected to happen three times: in August, November, and December. The September 1st payment will be made on August 30th because that is Labor Day. December 1st is a Sunday this year, so the payment that would have been made on that day will be made on November 29th. And January 1st is a holiday, so SSI payments for that month will be made on December 31st, New Year’s Eve.
Getty Images
The maximum monthly SSI payment for recipients this year is $943 for individuals and $1,415 for married couples. The exact amount may be lower based on the recipient’s or specific family members’ income, living situation and other factors.
Individual recipients receiving the maximum amount will receive a total of $1,886 this month, while married couples will receive $2,830 in double payments.
read more: These banks offer savings accounts with 5% interest.
SSI payments, like Social Security payments, are adjusted annually based on inflation, known as the annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA). This year, benefits for more than 71 million Americans increased by 3.2%. While this change is significant, it pales in comparison to the 8.7% COLA that will take effect in 2023.
Previous COLAs have been more modest, with a 2.8% COLA in 2019, 1.6% in 2020, and 1.3% in 2021. Already in 2022, the adjustment has risen to 5.9%.
read more: Best places to put your benefits: CDs and high-yield savings accounts.
The COLA is currently calculated based on the increase in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Employees (CPI-W) between the third quarter of the previous year and the third quarter of the current year, but activists have long called for changes to be made to account for costs that disproportionately affect older and more vulnerable people, particularly health care costs.
Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego of Arizona is trying to pass a bill that would change how COLAs are calculated. The Benefit and COLA Increases Act would require the Social Security Commissioner to calculate COLAs using the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly (CPI-E) unless the CPI-W is higher.
If passed, the bill would apply to determinations relating to cost-of-living calculation quarters ending after September 30, 2024.
Rare knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom, seeking common ground and finding connections.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom, seeking common ground and finding connections.
