Washington, May 26, 2026, 13:04 EDT
Social Security’s last May checks go out Wednesday to those with birthdays from the 21st to 31st, according to the Social Security Administration. The 2026 payment calendar has this group on the month’s fourth Wednesday, following earlier May payments sent to people born from the 1st through the 20th.
The timing is important here since this isn’t a bonus or extra relief check—it’s just part of the standard monthly schedule for the program. As of April, 75.5 million people were getting Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, or both. Social Security paid out $137.4 billion in monthly benefits that month.
Next up are June payments. SSI, or Supplemental Security Income, starts paying Monday. SSI is for people with low income and few resources who are aged, blind or disabled. Social Security payments will follow on June 3, June 10, June 17 and June 24, depending on who gets them.
Retirement, disability and survivor benefits that began after May 1997 usually go out based on the recipient’s birth date. Payments land on the second Wednesday for people born 1st-10th, third Wednesday for 11th-20th, and fourth Wednesday for 21st-31st. Those getting spousal or survivor payments follow the primary worker’s birthday for the schedule, which may not match the beneficiary’s own.
Some people aren’t on the main Wednesday payment cycle. If you started getting Social Security before May 1997, get both Social Security and SSI, or live overseas or are in certain Medicare savings programs, payments typically land the first and third of the month. If the regular date is a weekend or holiday, the Social Security Administration says payments arrive the business day before.
SSI payments for June are set for June 1. Social Security is due June 3 for people in the pre-May 1997 group and certain exceptions. Birth-date groups will get checks on June 10, June 17, and June 24.
SSI payments are different from Social Security retirement payments. SSA puts the federal SSI payment for 2026 at $994 per month for a single person, $1,491 for couples. Income, where someone lives and state add-ons can change the actual amount.
The state detail is relevant for the Michigan and Mississippi stories linked here, though the federal payment date stays the same. SSA shows Mississippi as a state with no SSI supplement, and Michigan as a state where Social Security handles some supplement types.
Social Security and SSI are getting a 2.8% cost-of-living adjustment for 2026. SSA said the average retired-worker benefit hit $2,071 in January after the hike, and by April the average climbed to $2,081.16, according to the agency’s latest snapshot.
But the bigger risk for beneficiaries this week is payment delays, not a policy shift. SSA is telling people who don’t see an electronic payment on the expected day to call their bank first. Banks might be slow to post the deposit; after that, missing, late, or stolen payments can go to Social Security.
Bottom line: if your birthday is late in the month, your payment may hit May 27. SSI payments land June 1. Others will want to track the June date set by their benefit and birth date. The calendar decides where things land.
