The Social Security Administration will issue two payments to some beneficiaries in October.
The reason has to do with how the calendar plays out for October and November.be
People who receive Supplemental Security Income, or SSI, will receive two payments in October – the first on Wednesday, Oct. 1 and the second on Friday, Oct. 30. The October payment is actually for November, since Nov. 1 falls on a Saturday. SSI payments are typically made on the first of each month, but not when the day falls on a holiday or weekend. That means two SSI checks will be issued in October and none in November.
Recipients will get two SSI payments in December as well – the first on Monday, Dec. 1 and the second on Wednesday, Dec. 31, since Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026, is a federal holiday.
Some 7.5 million people receive SSI payments each month, including nearly 2.4 million people ages 65 and older. Recipients are older, blind or have a disability and have low income. To qualify, you must be at least 65 years old, blind or have a disability and have very limited financial resources.
Social Security payments
Traditional Social Security payments are made based on the recipient’s birth date.
People born on the 1-10th of the month are paid on the second Wednesday, 11th – 20th on the third Wednesday and 21st – 31st on the forth Wednesday. People who received Social Security before 1997 or receive both SSI and Social Security are paid on the first and third of the month, respectively.
READ MORE: Where can retirees live on Social Security alone: Here’s the list
COLA announced in October
October will be a key month for Social Security beneficiaries. The 2026 Cost of Living Adjustment, or COLA, will be announced around Oct. 15. COLA is determined by the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, or CPI-W, for the third quarter of the year (July, August and September.) That figure is compiled and then compared to the CPI-W for the same period the previous year, with the difference being the COLA for the coming year.
Based on current data, the latest COLA projection puts the increase at 2.7%, which would go into effect in 2026.
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