The Social Security Administration (SSA) continues distributing benefits normally to millions of Americans who depend on these benefits to make ends meet. If you’re here, you may be one of them, so we’re going to give you all the verified and truthful information about the next payment, the Supplemental Security Income (SSI), which will arrive in early August.
SSI payments are generally made on the first day of each month, except when that day falls on a holiday or weekend. When that happens, the payment is advanced to the nearest business day. No such change is expected in August, as the first day is a Thursday.
The maximum amount confirmed for SSI payments in 2025
SSI maximum amounts do not change month to month, but rather change once a year when the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) is applied. After the last reported increase, which was 2.5% for all federal SSA payments, the maximum payment for a single beneficiary applying for benefits is $967, but for a couple applying jointly, the amount increases to $1,450 (about $725 for each).
For those approved for the “caregiver” or “essential person” category, the maximum possible amount is $484 per month. This category is, actually, rare to be approved to, because it requires specific conditions both the recipient and the caregiver must comply with. Ask in your local SSA agency to determine if you qualify, and how to apply.
August comes with double SSI payments
Although the total number of payments is 12 per year, one for each month, there are specificities of the SSA calendar that cause months with double payments and months without payments. Such is the case in August, when beneficiaries will receive one payment on August 1 and another on August 29.
This second payment corresponds to the month of September, since the 1st is Labor Day in 2025, which falls on the first Monday of that month every year.
This particularity will also occur in October: on the 1st, there will be an SSI payment, and on the 31st, another payment that is, in fact, the advance deposit for November 1st (which is a Saturday).
Once again, this phenomenon is repeated in December, when you’ll see a payment on the 1st and a payment on December 31st, corresponding to the advance deposit on January 1st, which is a New Year’s holiday.
A further explanation for those who combine SSI with Social Security in 2025
If you receive Social Security retirement benefits, combined with SSI benefits, this may cause a change in the schedule, and I’ll explain. Typically, retirees (who claimed their benefits after May 1997) receive their payments on three dates each month.
The second Wednesday (those with birthdays between the 1st and 10th), the third Wednesday (birthdays between the 11th and 20th), and the fourth Wednesday (birthdays between the 21st and 31st).
However, if a beneficiary begins receiving SSI, the payment date will be the third day of each month (except where the holiday and weekend rule applies). But, watch out, since August 3rd is a Sunday, so the payment will be sent on the 1st date.
So, in short, SSI payments will fall on the 1st of each month, and retirement payments will fall on the 3rd of each month.