Everyone is looking forward to having fun this holiday season, but we need to remember that Santa Claus will not save us from some of our financial duties.
The fact that the Social Security Administration (SSA) kept sending payments all through December could be seen as a gift. The administration will also not forget its duties and will continue to make sure that all payments are made on time, just like Santa.
This is true even if they have to make some changes and close offices so that employees can spend time with their families and loved ones. Because of all the holidays coming up this month, there will be some big changes to the payment schedule.
The SSA will close all offices and not process claims starting tomorrow
The SSA offices will be closed on the major Christmas dates, like December 25 and January 1. People who need service on those days will not be able to get it in person or over the phone.
All of the work has to be moved to the website, which will be open during these times. For another thing, remember that you need to call your local office right away to set up a face-to-face meeting, because the SSA will start using appointments on January 6, 2025.
People who walk in are still welcome, but wait times will get longer because people with appointments will be served first.
SSA’s main financial and insurance programs in the US
Most people who get benefits from the SSA in the United States may already know that it has different financial and insurance programs that give monthly payments to retired workers, survivors, disabled people, and SSI recipients. These are the most important things you should know about Social Security’s four programs:
- Supplemental Security Income benefits: paid on the first of each month for every beneficiary. These payments fall under a different category since it is the only one that can be combined with other Social Security benefits.
- Retirement, survivor, and disability insurance benefits (before May 1997): all beneficiaries who claimed benefits before this day will receive their paychecks always on the third day of the month.
- Retirement, survivor, and disability insurance benefits (after May 1997): beneficiaries who claimed benefits after this date will receive their paychecks based on a staggered methodology as here detailed:
- Recipients born between the 1st and the 10th will get their paychecks on the second Wednesday of the month.
- Recipients born between the 11th and the 20th will get their paychecks on the third Wednesday of the month.
- Recipients born between the 21st and the 31st will get their paychecks on the fourth Wednesday of the month.
This year, the remaining payment from Social Security is sent to all Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) recipients born between the 21st and 31st of each month and after May 1997.
The payment is due on December 24, a day that is not a holiday. The payment is still set to be made on December 25, which is Christmas Day and a federal holiday. This means that the payment will be made early to protect the recipients from possible delays.
Also, people who get these payments should know that they may be late sometimes because of weekends or national holidays, like in December. Because of this, payments will be changed to make sure delivery on time.
The change will move payments to the day before, when banks and the U.S. Postal Service are open, so people will still get their money on time.
Because of this, there will be an extra payment at the end of the month. This is because January 1st is a holiday, so the SSA will send this payment out on December 31st. Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients will be the first people in the U.S. to get their higher benefits from the cost of living adjustment (COLA) for 2025. They will also get their payments early.
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