The Social Security Administration (SSA) will begin the May 2025 payments this week. Millions of Americans are in line to receive their benefits on May 1. However, the payment date will depend on your age and when you began receiving the benefits.
The SSA has already revealed the full schedule for this month. The agency is supposed to send out the first set of checks on the first day of every month. However, this is the second time since November that SSA has been able to comply with the schedule following April.
The agency pays retirement, survivor, and disability benefits to over 70 million Americans every month. Supplemental Security Income (SSI), which is a program designed to benefit the elderly or disabled individuals with limited income, is issued at the beginning of each month.
Retirement payments are distributed throughout the month. The date typically depends on when you were born and when you began receiving the benefits. For May 2025, SSI recipients and others who have received Social Security checks before May 1997 will be paid. The Supplemental Security Income benefits will hit the bank account on Thursday, May 1.
Others will begin receiving their Social Security checks on Friday, May 2.
Your check amount depends on when you retired and began receiving the payments. According to policies in 2025, if you retire at 67, which is the full retirement age, you would be eligible for a maximum monthly benefit of $4,018. However, if you retire at 62, which is the minimum age required to apply for the benefits, your payments will be reduced to $2,831.
On the other hand, delaying the age to 70, could offer you extra benefits up to $5,108 per month. However, it is important to note, these are the maximum figures. The exact amount of your monthly checks will depend on your lifetime earnings, in addition to how many years you have paid the Social Security taxes. The average monthly retirement pay was around $1,976 in the month of January 2025.
The average Social Security benefit comes out to $18,200 a year.
I can’t stress this enough: Do everything you can to find a job that contributes to your retirement, even if you’re young.
I fear so many Millennials, Gen X and Gen Z will spend golden years working or in poverty.
— Dan Price (@DanPriceSeattle) July 6, 2021
For those receiving SSI, the actual monthly benefits is based on factors like disability type, income, household size, e.t.c. The benefits is usually available to single people who earn less than $2,019 per month from work and receive not more than $988 from other sources like pensions and unemployment. The limit is higher for couples, as well as parents applying for children.
As of 2025, the maximum Supplemental Security Income for an individual is $967, while it is $1,450 for a couple.
If you don’t receive your monthly Social Security check this week, note these upcoming payment dates for this month.
- Wednesday, May 14: Retirement, spousal and survivor checks. Only for those born between the 1st and 10th of any calendar month.
- Wednesday, May 21: Payments for those born between the 11th and 20th will be issued.
- Wednesday, May 28: Payments for those with birthdays between the 21st and 31st.
On Friday, May 30, SSA will issue Supplemental checks for June. The benefits will arrive a little earlier than usual, as the regular date falls on a weekend. Since, Saturday, Sundays, and public holidays are not working days, sometimes payments get delayed like it happened from November to April.
The Social Security Administration recommend waiting at least 3 days before contacting the agency if you don’t receive your monthly benefit.
