Social Security benefits are set to be paid out as usual throughout February, but when can you expect yours?

Over 70 million people in the United States rely on Social Security every month for key income, whether through retirement, disability or survivor benefits. Because the program serves so many recipients, the Social Security Administration (SSA) distributes payments across the month rather than all at once.

Payment Dates

Most people receiving benefits are paid according to their birthday, though not everyone follows that schedule. People who began collecting retirement, spousal or survivor benefits before May 1997, along with those who receive both Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI), are paid on different dates. SSI provides monthly financial support to low-income older adults and to people who are blind or have disabilities.

Friday, January 30: SSI paymentsTuesday, February 3: Social Security payments for those who also receive SSIWednesday, February 11: Payments for people born between the 1st and 10th of any monthWednesday, February 18: Payments for those born between the 11th and 20thWednesday, February 25: Payments for those born between the 21st and 31stFriday, February 27: SSI payments for March.

SSI recipients are scheduled to receive their February 2026 payment a day early, on January 30, and the same occurs at the end of the month on February 27 for March.

“When the first day of the month falls on the weekend or a federal holiday, you receive your SSI payment on the last business day before the first day of the month. That means you may get two SSI payments in the same month,” the SSA wrote in a 2022 blog post. “We do this to avoid putting you at a financial disadvantage and make sure that you don’t have to wait beyond the first of the month to get your payment. It does not mean that you are receiving a duplicate payment in the previous month, so you do not need to contact us to report the second payment.”

If a Social Security payment does not arrive as scheduled, beneficiaries are advised to allow up to three business days before reaching out to the SSA.

How Much Is Social Security?

Retirement payments depend on how much you earned over your working life, when you start claiming and the year you begin receiving benefits, which means there is no single maximum that applies to everyone.

Using an example of someone who earned the taxable maximum every year from age 22 and begins collecting in 2026, claiming at full retirement age would result in a monthly benefit of $4,152. Starting early at 62 would lower that amount to $2,969, while waiting until age 70 would raise it to $5,181 a month.

In practice, most people receive less than these top figures. As of December 2025, the average retired worker received $2,071.30 per month.