Certain Social Security recipients up and down the country will receive their August payment this week. More than 75.7 million Americans received either Social Security, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), or both in July, according to the SSA’s latest monthly data. Around 71.3 million received Social Security benefits, including retirement, survivor and spousal benefits.
But not every beneficiary gets their money on the same day, with a staggered schedule determining when benefits will arrive. Payments will be issued on Wednesday, August 26 to eligible retirement, survivor and spousal benefit beneficiaries whose birthdays fall between the 21st and 31st of any month, according to the SSA’s 2026 payment calendar. The payment will be the last of the three regular Wednesday Social Security payment rounds for August.
Earlier payments went out on August 12 to people born from the 1st through the 10th and on August 19 to those born from the 11th through the 20th. Recipients who started collecting Social Security before May 1997, along with those receiving both Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI), were paid their August benefits earlier this month. Individual SSI payments were also made at the start of August.
Beneficiaries whose payment does not arrive on its scheduled date are advised not to contact the SSA immediately and are advised to wait three working days before reporting a missing payment. For September, payments will be made on the following dates: The amount a person receives depends on factors including their lifetime earnings and, for retirement benefits, the age at which they begin claiming. Someone who earned the maximum amount subject to Social Security taxes throughout their career and begins collecting retirement benefits at age 70 in 2026 could receive as much as $5,181 per month, according to the SSA.
The maximum for someone claiming at full retirement age is $4,152, while a person claiming at age 62 could receive a maximum of $2,969. Most beneficiaries receive considerably less. As of July, the average retired worker received $2,085.98 per month, while the overall average Social Security benefit across all beneficiary groups was $1,940.08.
Disabled workers received an average of $1,635.27. Social Security benefits received a 2.8 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for 2026, intended to help payments keep pace with inflation. Attention is increasingly turning toward the size of the 2027 COLA, which will be announced this fall.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
