Millions of Social Security recipients will receive their first monthly retirement checks of 2025 in eight days.
Social Security beneficiaries who were born from the 1st through the 10th of their respective birth month will receive the regular monthly check for January from the Social Security Administration on Jan. 8, 2025.
Social Security payments are based on the earnings throughout a retiree’s life and have no limits based on income, but the amount each check is worth depends on the age when a person retires. Citizens are eligible for Social Security beginning at 62 years old but can earn more by waiting until later to retire.
Filers who retire at 67 receive a maximum check of $3,822, while those who retire at 62 get up to $2,710. Beneficiaries who delay their retirement to 70 get the largest payment of $4,873 per month, according to the Social Security Administration.
The monthly payment schedule for regular Social Security checks has three waves, all occurring on Wednesdays — or a Tuesday if a Wednesday is a federal holiday.
The distribution of payments is divided by the days of the month a recipient was born into three waves, with the Jan. 8 payment being the first wave. The second wave of payments will be sent out on Jan. 15 to those born on the 11th through the 20th of a month, while the third wave of checks will be sent out on Jan. 22 to those born on the 21st through the 31st of a month.
The monthly Social Security payments are different from other checks distributed by the SSA — such as disability insurance or Supplemental Security Income, which are sent out on a different schedule.
SSI payments are sent to recipients by the beginning of each month to those with debilitating disabilities that may affect their income.