Millions of Americans count on Social Security every month
When the month of October begins, millions of Americans will be receiving their Social Security payments. For the vast majority of retirees, disabled workers, and beneficiaries of deceased workers, these payments are a lifeline that allows it to be possible to afford day-to-day necessities like food, housing, and medical care.
The Social Security Administration has a system whereby payments are made smoothly, and this month starts positively for those who receive payments: the first payments are received this week.
Who gets paid first in October?
The first to get payments in October are the people who get Supplemental Security Income (SSI). They were to be paid on October 1. SSI pays about 7.4 million Americans of low income and resources.
Two days after, on October 3, another large group will have cash deposited in their accounts or checks mailed to them. These people include:
- Retirees who started getting Social Security prior to 1997
- People who get both Social Security and SSI
- Survivors and spouses eligible for Social Security benefits too
All the recipients, as per the SSA, must provide at least three business days for checks or deposits to reach them before panicking over delays.
Payment schedule for the rest of the month
If you are not one of the early October receivers, worry not. The payments are staggered through the month, depending on your birthday.
Here’s the calendar for October:
- October 8: Birthdays between the 1st and the 10th
- October 15: Birthdays between the 11th and the 20th
- October 22: Birthdays between the 21st and the 31st
This is how the SSA processes payments for over 74 million Americans.
How much do you get?
Not everybody gets the same amount of Social Security. Payment depends on how many years you’ve worked, how much you’ve made, and when you start getting benefits.
- The average monthly retirement check is about $2,006.69.
- When you retire at age 67, the maximum is $4,018 monthly.
- If you retire early at 62, the maximum drops to $2,831.
- If you retire at 70, you could get up to $5,108 a month.
- For SSI, the average monthly payment is about $718.30, allowing the most needy families to make do.
- COLA boost could translate to fatter checks in the future
There is more good news on the horizon. Every year, in October, the SSA officially announces the upcoming year’s Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA). This change aims to allow Social Security benefits to keep up with inflation, thus helping the recipients to sustain cost of living with a rise in prices.
The COLA is computed based on the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W), which gauges what young working families pay for groceries and other daily commodities. Each year since 1975, the SSA has used this information to figure out how much to increase benefits.
Any increase announced in October will first begin showing up in January 2026 checks to retirees, survivors, and disability beneficiaries, along with SSI recipients.
Why these payments matter
Social Security is not just a program—it’s a lifeline for millions. For many older Americans, this money covers the basics of rent, food, and medicine. Surviving spouses and dependents rely upon it for stability after the death of a loved one, and the disabled count on it as their only lifeline.
With the living cost continuing to increase, the October payments to come and the forthcoming COLA announcement are a welcome relief. For those who qualify for the maximum benefit, checks may be as much as $5,108—a huge increase that gives some people peace of mind.
