Eligible retirees in the United States are about to receive a new payment from Social Security. On average, these checks or direct deposits can be about $1,927. However, the amount will not be the same for all seniors on retirement benefits. If you were a high earner for more than 35 years, your payment will be higher than if you worked for just 10 years with a low wage.
December will bring 2 more payments for retirees, but, of course, you could only receive one of the two. The following one will be issued in just 5 days, so it is time to prepare your monthly budget.
Next payment dates for retirees on Social Security up to $1,927
The 2 upcoming paydays for Americans on retirement benefits will be on December 18 and December 24, 2024. In fact, the main requirement to get a Social Security check or deposit on the 18th will be your birth date.
If you were born from the first to the tenth, your benefit was due on December 11. So, if it is from 11-20, it will be sent on December 18. That is, on the third Wednesday in December. An important change will take place on December 24.
Usually, the third round of payments is on the fourth Wednesday, but it will be delivered on a Tuesday instead. For your information, Wednesday, December 25 is a Federal Holiday, and SSA offices and financial institutions are closed on that important celebration. December 24 will be your next payday if your birthday is from 21-31. For any of the remaining payments for retirees, you cannot be on SSI and you can’t have started getting payments before May 1997.
Will retirees will get the 2025 COLA in the December 18 and 24 Social Security payments?
None of the December payments for retirement will include the 2025 COLA. Only SSI recipients who get their January payment on December 31, 2024, will enjoy the 2.5% COLA increase.
After the 2025 COLA increase, the average payments will be $1,976 according to Social Security’s COLA Fact Sheet for 2025. The first retirees to receive this COLA boost will be those who qualify for the January 3, 2025, payment.
The largest retirement benefit payment in 2025 will become $5,108, up from $4,873. It is only possible to achieve it if:
- file at 70
- earned the taxable maximum for 35 years or more
- worked for a minimum of 35 years
- have jobs covered by SSA
5 Key Factors That Determine Your Social Security Benefits
Here are the key factors that influence the amount of Social Security retirement benefits a person receives:
- Work history – To compute your benefit, the SSA takes the average of the 35 highest earning, inflation-indexed years of work history. Years in which one did not earn will be considered as earning zero dollars and will be included in the average.
- Earnings history – In general, the higher the lifetime earnings, the higher the Social Security benefit one is to receive. The SSA covers a higher percentage of the pre-retirement income for very low wage earners compared to high wage earners.
- Birth year – The full retirement age, which is the age at which one is entitled to receive 100% of the benefit as calculated, is based on the year of birth. It varies from 66 to 67 years depending on the year of birth after 1943.
- Claiming age – Benefits may be claimed as early as 62, but the amount that one will receive each month will be reduced. If one decides to delay benefits to a time after full retirement age and up to age 70, then the benefit will be higher by about 8% for every year that one delays.
- Cost-of-living adjustments – The benefits increase each year by the inflation rate from age 62, even if one hasn’t started receiving them. The adjustments are made using the Consumer Price Index. If you have a government or foreign pension from a job where you didn’t pay into Social Security, then your benefit may be affected by the Windfall Elimination Provision.