Social Security isn’t sending bonus payments in September 2023

Social Security benefits provide people with an income when they can’t retire or are unable to work due to disability.

These benefit payments typically come on a set date each month. But a VERIFY reader texted the team to ask if Social Security recipients will receive a bonus payment in September. 

THE QUESTION

Will Social Security recipients receive a bonus payment in September?

THE SOURCES

THE ANSWER

No, Social Security recipients will not receive a bonus payment in September. 

WHAT WE FOUND

Social Security payments follow a set schedule every month. Most recipients typically receive their payments on the second, third or fourth Wednesday of each month, depending on their birth date, AARP explains. 

But people who receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI), such as those who are blind, disabled or at least 65 years old with very limited financial resources, typically get paid on the first of the month. 

This can be a problem if the first falls on a federal holiday or weekend when banks are closed, like it does on Sunday, Oct. 1. As a workaround, SSI payments are sent out on the closest previous business day. 

That means SSI recipients will get their October payment on Sept. 29, in addition to the payment they already received on Sept. 1.

But this second check in September is not a bonus payment. It’s just an advance for the month of October. 

SSI recipients will also get an advance payment on Dec. 29 for January, since Jan. 1 falls on a federal holiday. You can find the full 2023 payment schedule here.