October Social Security Payouts: Hundreds Of Dollars Added For Many Recipients—Check Your Payment Date

Social Security checks for October will be issued soon and could be hundreds of dollars bigger for some recipients. Checks are generally issued starting on the second Wednesday of each month, depending on your birthday. Those born in the first ten days of a month will receive this month's Social Security checks on October 9. People born in the next ten days till the 20th of a month can expect checks to arrive on October 16. Checks for beneficiaries born in the latter half of a month starting the 21st are scheduled for October 23. However, recipients collecting Social Security payments since before May 1997 receive checks on the third day of each month regardless of their birthdate.

New SSI Rules Boost Monthly Income By Hundreds Of Dollars

The Social Security Administration (SSA) announced yesterday it has amended rules to increase payouts for many of the seven million recipients who collect monthly Supplemental Security Income (SSI) to cover living expenses. SSI checks are issued on the first day of the month, and beneficiaries will receive two checks in November due to a system technicality. The SSI checks arrive earlier if the month's first day (December 1) is on the weekend. SSI benefits help US adults and children with disabilities or blindness and seniors aged 65 and older who have low income and resources pay for essentials like shelter, food, clothing, and medicine. SSI is generally for individuals earning a maximum of $1,971 monthly from a job. The maximum monthly SSI check amount was increased to $943 in 2024 and $1,415 for couples. The latest policy changes can increase monthly income by around $263 for thousands of recipients.

Food Assistance From Friends And Family Won't Affect SSI Checks Anymore

The SSA has decided not to consider food in In-Kind Support and Maintenance (ISM) calculations. ISM is unearned income or financial assistance SSI beneficiaries receive from a person and is deducted from the SSI payout. Factors like employment status, pension income, and rent-free living in someone else's house determine your final check size. The SSA estimated that not paying the fair share of food and housing bills could lower monthly SSI checks by over $334. The new ISM change will alone increase the monthly SSI payout by $131 for more than 90,000 people. Furthermore, the policy update will also help more people receiving food assistance from family or community networks become eligible for SSI benefits.

Rental Subsidy Exception For All

The SSA highlighted its move to expand a rental subsidy exception from seven US states to all SSI applicants and recipients nationwide. The policy update will enable people who contribute a certain amount toward rent, with the rest paid by someone else, to avoid being subjected to ISM rental assistance deductions. The SSA expects the new rule to increase monthly SSI checks by almost $132 for 41,000 and help more people quality over time.

"These changes will help more people access crucial SSI benefits," stated Social Security Commissioner Martin O'Malley in the press release. "By simplifying and expanding our policies, we are making SSI smarter, removing barriers to accessing payments, and reducing the burden on the public and agency staff."

Public Assistance Household Definition Expansion Eases SSI Eligibility Barriers

The SSA amended the definition of a public assistance household to include Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) beneficiaries and households where not all members receive public assistance. Previously, the law required all household members to receive public assistance to be considered a public assistance household. New changes will require households to have both an SSI applicant or recipient and at least one other member who receives a listed public income maintenance (PIM) payment to become eligible for public assistance. The SSA expects the new amendments will help more people qualify for SSI benefits, significantly ease reporting requirements in public assistance households, and increase the monthly incomes of over 270,000 SSI recipients.