Certain Social Security beneficiaries are to receive their latest monthly check today, as the Social Security Administration (SSA) makes the second batch of payments on its December distribution schedule.
Who’s getting a check from Social Security today, Dec. 3?Some long-term beneficiaries
The SSA is to send out payments to a particular group of long-term Social Security recipients: specifically, those who started receiving retirement benefits, Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or survivor pay before May 1997.
Recipients who also get SSI
Today is also your payment date for retirement, SSDI or survivor pay if you combine any of these benefits with Supplemental Security Income (SSI) – a scheme for low-income Americans who are over 65 or have a disability.
SSI money, meanwhile, was to go out on Monday, Dec. 1, in the SSA’s first batch of payments for next month.
How much do retirement, SSDI and survivor beneficiaries get?
Retired workers – who account for most of the U.S.’s Social Security recipients – get an average of $2,009.50 a month, per the SSA’s most recent figures. (Released in recent days, the agency’s latest Social Security fact sheet provides data for September, rather than the past month; this is apparently because of the disruption caused by the 43-day government shutdown in October and early November.)
According to the SSA, disabled workers are paid $1,584.46 a month on average, and recipients of survivor benefits get a monthly average of $1,575.61.
How much are SSI benefits?
Per the SSA, individual SSI beneficiaries receive an average of $717.20 a month. The maximum SSI amount available to an individual claimant is $967 per month. Eligible couples can claim a joint payment of up to $1,450 a month.
Some SSI recipients get a supplementary payment from their state. You can find out which states offer this additional money on the SSA website.
How much are benefits going to increase by in 2026?
In October, the SSA confirmed that its beneficiaries will receive a 2.8% increase in their monthly checks from January 2026, as part of the agency’s annual cost-of-living adjustment. For recipients of retirement benefits, this means an average rise of $56 per month, the SSA says.
When are other Social Security checks being paid in Dec. 2025?
Most recipients of retirement, SSDI and survivor benefits will be issued their latest monthly benefits on the second, third or fourth Wednesday in December.
A recipient’s designated Wednesday depends on the date of birth of the worker whose Social Security taxes have accumulated the benefits entitlement:
Born on 1st-10th of each month: Weds., Dec. 10Born on 11th-20th of each month: Weds., Dec. 17Born on 21st-31st of each month: Weds., Dec. 24
You can check out the SSA’s full schedule of payments for 2025 in this online calendar. The agency has also published its benefits-distribution schedule for 2026.
How does Social Security send out benefits?
As of September 30, the SSA says it is “in most cases” no longer giving beneficiaries the option of getting their money in paper-check form. Instead, the agency offers beneficiaries two ways of receiving electronic payments:
If they provide the SSA with their bank-account details, beneficiaries can be sent their payments by direct deposit. You can supply your banking information on the SSA’s “my Social Security” online portal.
Alternatively, you can have your benefits loaded onto the Direct Express Card, a special debit card for federal payments made to people without a bank account.
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