Social Security to send out benefits tomorrow, Jan. 14: here’s who gets a payment

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Tomorrow, many Social Security recipients in the United States are due to get their first benefits payment of 2026, having faced the longest possible wait for this month’s money.

Who gets benefits from Social Security tomorrow, Wednesday Jan. 14?

Payments are scheduled to go out to certain recipients of retirement, disability and survivor benefits.

Of the approximately 70 million people who receive one of these benefits in the U.S., most are issued their money on the second, third or fourth Wednesday in each month. A recipient’s designated Wednesday depends on the date of birth of the worker whose Social Security taxes have accumulated their benefits entitlement.

Jan. 14 is the second Wednesday in January, so tomorrow’s payment run covers birthdays that fall between the first and 10th of each month. As shown below, birthdays that come later in any month are then catered for over the following two weeks in January:

January 2026’s Wednesday payments

Beneficiaries born on 1st-10th: Weds., Jan. 14
Beneficiaries born on 11th-20th: Weds., Jan. 21
Beneficiaries born on 21st-31st: Weds., Jan. 28

Because 2026 began on a Thursday, January’s trio of Wednesday payments come at their latest possible points in the month.

Who doesn’t get benefits on the 2nd, 3rd or 4th Wednesday?

Some long-term Social Security recipients

If you started claiming retirement, disability or survivor benefits before May 1997, you are normally paid on the third day of each month, irrespective of your date of birth.

However, as Jan. 3 was a Saturday, these beneficiaries were instead scheduled to get their January money on the earliest working day before then: Friday, Jan. 2.

SSI beneficiaries

The nearly 7.4 million recipients of Supplemental Security Income (SSI) – a separate, purely needs-based benefit for low-income individuals who are over 65 or have a disability – are typically paid on the first day of each month.

But New Year’s Day is a federal holiday, so January’s SSI benefits were due to go out 24 hours ahead of schedule, on Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025.

This is the first of three straight months in which SSI benefits are to be paid early: February and March’s payments will each go out two days early – on Jan. 30 and Feb. 27, respectively – as they are both months that kick off with a Sunday.

Dual recipients (SSI + regular Social Security)

Around 2.5 million Americans claim both SSI and one of the SSA’s retirement, disability or survivor benefits. For January, these beneficiaries were scheduled to get the former on Dec. 31, and the latter on Jan. 2.

At a glance – Jan. payment dates not determined by birthday:

SSI recipients: Wednesday, Dec. 31 (Jan. payment)
Pre-May ’97 Social Sec. recipients: Friday, Jan. 2
Dual recipients: SSI on Dec. 31; Social Sec. on Jan. 2
SSI recipients: Friday, Jan. 30 (Feb. payment)

You can take a look at the SSA’s complete benefits-distribution schedule for 2026 in this online pdf shared by the agency.

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How much do Social Security and SSI beneficiaries get per month?

As of November 2025, retired workers – who represent most of the U.S.’s Social Security beneficiaries – were paid $2,013.32 a month on average, per the SSA’s most recent figures. Disabled workers got $1,588.52 a month on average, and recipients of survivor benefits were issued a monthly average of $1,576.20. SSI recipients were paid an average of $717.90 a month.

However, the SSA confirmed in October that its beneficiaries are to get a 2.8% rise in their payments in 2026. This comes as part of the agency’s annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA). You’ll find more information about this year’s adjusted benefit amounts in this SSA fact sheet.

How does Social Security send out benefits?

The SSA says it is “in most cases” no longer mailing recipients their benefits in paper-check form. Instead, the agency gives beneficiaries two ways of picking up payments electronically:

Direct deposit

By providing the SSA with their bank details, recipients can get their benefits by direct deposit.

Beneficiaries of retirement, disability and survivor pay can update their account information online using the agency’s “my Social Security” portal. SSI recipients should call 1-800-772-1213, the SSA says.

Debit Express

Recipients can also have their benefits loaded onto the Direct Express Card, a special debit card for federal payments made to people without a bank account. To sign up for Direct Express, you can call 1-800-333-1795 or visit the service’s website.