Social Security checks worth $4,873 will be sent this week – but your birthday will determine if you get the cash
SOCIAL Security payments worth up to $4,873 will hit Americans’ bank accounts on Wednesday.
However, the day you were born determines if you will see the cash this week or have to wait.
Social Security is a social insurance program created in 1935 when President Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law.
Americans pay taxes toward the financial safety net throughout their working years, which later benefits them as monthly payments to support their retirement.
In addition to retirement benefits, Social Security was created to financially support Americans with disabilities and families in which a spouse or parent has died.
Social Security checks are distributed according to a schedule, with beneficiary payment dates based on birthdays.
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Americans born on the 1st through 10th of their birth month get paid on the second Wednesday of each month.
Those with birthdays on the 11th through the 20th receive their checks on the third Wednesday of each month.
The last range of birthdays is from the 21st through the 31st of the birth month.
These Americans are paid their Social Security benefits on the fourth Wednesday of each month.
This month’s Social Security checks will be distributed on November 13, November 20, and November 27.
Although most checks are handed out based on birthdays, there are some exceptions.
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For example, Supplemental Security Income recipients are typically paid on the first of each month.
If the first falls on a weekend or holiday, it is paid on the last business day of the previous month.
Additionally, Social Security beneficiaries who filed for benefits prior to May 1997 generally have a payment schedule on the third of each month.
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The check amount for each Social Security recipient is based on their work history and how much they paid into the program over their lifetime.
A later retirement date generally amounts to a larger Social Security check each month.
Americans who delay their benefits until age 70 can earn a maximum monthly payment of $4,873.
Who can receive Social Security Benefits?
In addition to retired Americans, the following categories of people are eligible to receive Social Security payments:
- Someone with a qualifying disability
- A spouse or child of someone getting benefits
- A divorced spouse of someone getting or eligible for
Social Security - A spouse or child of a worker who died
- A divorced spouse of a worker who died
- A dependent parent of a worker who died
Source: Social Security Administration
This number drops significantly the earlier a beneficiary retires.
If an American were to wait until their full retirement age, or FRA, in 2024, their maximum monthly payment would be $3,822.
The FRA is based on the year you were born:
- 1943–1954: age 66
- 1955–1959: age 66 and a certain number of months, increasing by two months each year:
- 1955: 66 and 2 months
- 1956: 66 and 4 months
- 1957: 66 and 6 months
- 1958: 66 and 8 months
- 1959: 66 and 10 months
- 1960 or later: age 67
Those who start cashing in their benefits at age 62 in 2024 can receive a maximum monthly check of $2,710.
The U.S. Sun previously spoke to Social Security and money expert Shalae Morgan.
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Morgan shared how delaying your benefits could earn you $26,000 more annually and a practical way to maximize your payments.
The expert also noted two common mistakes that can lose you $1,000s a month in Social Security and three tricks to plan ahead.