The 2026 Social Security payment schedule
Your payment day was fixed the day your claim was approved. It depends on one date of birth, and it is not always your own.
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Social Security pays retirement benefits on a Wednesday chosen by the day of the month on which the insured worker was born, under 20 CFR 404.1807: born on the 1st to the 10th, the second Wednesday of each month; the 11th to the 20th, the third Wednesday; the 21st to the 31st, the fourth Wednesday. Spouses and children paid on that worker's record get the same day, set by the worker's birth date, not their own. Four groups are paid on the 3rd of the month instead: records with an application filed before May 1, 1997, people who also receive Supplemental Security Income, beneficiaries living in a foreign country, and people whose state pays their Medicare premium. When the day falls on a weekend or a Federal holiday, payment comes on the business day before; in 2026 that moves the November payment for the second-Wednesday group to Tuesday, November 10, because November 11 is Veterans Day. Each payment covers the month before: the check of January 2026 is the benefit for December 2025.
Your 2026 payment date
Payment date
Tuesday, November 10
| Rule applied | second Wednesday of the month |
| If you filed before May 1997 or also get SSI | Tuesday, November 3 |
| Benefit paid that day is for | October |
A Federal holiday or weekend moves the date to the business day before.
Every 2026 payment date
| Paid in | Benefit for | 3rd of month group | Born 1st to 10th | Born 11th to 20th | Born 21st to 31st |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | December | Fri Jan 2 | Wed Jan 14 | Wed Jan 21 | Wed Jan 28 |
| February | January | Tue Feb 3 | Wed Feb 11 | Wed Feb 18 | Wed Feb 25 |
| March | February | Tue Mar 3 | Wed Mar 11 | Wed Mar 18 | Wed Mar 25 |
| April | March | Fri Apr 3 | Wed Apr 8 | Wed Apr 15 | Wed Apr 22 |
| May | April | Fri May 1 | Wed May 13 | Wed May 20 | Wed May 27 |
| June | May | Wed Jun 3 | Wed Jun 10 | Wed Jun 17 | Wed Jun 24 |
| July | June | Thu Jul 2 | Wed Jul 8 | Wed Jul 15 | Wed Jul 22 |
| August | July | Mon Aug 3 | Wed Aug 12 | Wed Aug 19 | Wed Aug 26 |
| September | August | Thu Sep 3 | Wed Sep 9 | Wed Sep 16 | Wed Sep 23 |
| October | September | Fri Oct 2 | Wed Oct 14 | Wed Oct 21 | Wed Oct 28 |
| November | October | Tue Nov 3 | Tue Nov 10 | Wed Nov 18 | Wed Nov 25 |
| December | November | Thu Dec 3 | Wed Dec 9 | Wed Dec 16 | Wed Dec 23 |
Dates come from the rule in 20 CFR 404.1807 applied to the 2026 calendar, with the Federal holidays published by OPM. A payment day that falls on a Saturday, Sunday or Federal holiday is moved to the first preceding day that is not one.
Which column is yours
The Wednesday groups
For records whose first application was filed after April 30, 1997, payments are spread over three Wednesdays. The date that counts is the day of the month on which the insured worker was born, the person whose earnings record pays the benefit:
- 1st to 10th: second Wednesday;
- 11th to 20th: third Wednesday;
- 21st to 31st: fourth Wednesday.
Only the day counts, not the month or the year: a worker born on March 10 is paid on the second Wednesday, one born on March 11 a week later. A retired worker is paid on their own birth date. A spouse, a child, a widow or a widower paid on that worker's record is paid on the worker's birth date, because the regulation assigns "the same payment day for all individuals who receive benefits on the earnings record of a particular insured individual."
The 3rd of the month
Four situations put a whole record on the 3rd:
- anyone on the record became entitled on an application filed before May 1, 1997: the record stays on the 3rd, including people who join it later;
- someone on the record also receives Supplemental Security Income, or has income deemed to an SSI recipient;
- someone on the record lives in a foreign country;
- a state pays the Medicare premium of someone on the record.
Cases 2 to 4 apply to records with applications filed after April 30, 1997, and the SSA notifies the beneficiaries in writing when it moves them. People living outside the United States can read our page on benefits abroad.
Paid the month after
Each payment is for the previous month. Two consequences surprise new retirees:
- the first payment arrives the month after the first month of entitlement, so someone entitled from June 2026 is paid first in July;
- a cost-of-living adjustment effective for December shows up in January, as the 2.8% did in January 2026 according to the SSA notice;
The 4 moves of the 3rd in 2026
The Wednesday groups almost never move, since a Wednesday cannot be a weekend: in 2026 the only shift is November 11, Veterans Day. The 3rd of the month moves whenever it falls on a Saturday or Sunday, or on a Federal holiday, as on July 3, when Independence Day is observed. In 2026 that happens in January, May, July and October. In each case the money arrives earlier, never later.
If a payment is missing
The regulation has the SSA certify each recurring payment "for delivery on or before" the assigned day, so a payment is never scheduled after it. If a deposit is missing, the bank's posting record and the SSA's own payment history are the two places to look; the SSA can be reached at 1-800-772-1213. The amount you can expect and the Medicare premium deducted each have their own pages.