The Social Security Administration will send millions of United States retirees an extra check in December. This extra check is a one-time payment that is part of the Supplemental Security Income schedule. Therefore, if you have this benefit, you should know that you could get an extra payment before the end of the year.
So, if you check the eligibility requirements and find that you can get this payment, you may get a check before the end of the year with an extra payment to spend on whatever you need. Also, this payment will not count against the maximum $914 Supplemental Security Income for the year 2023, but will have the 2024 COLA included.
Also, this payment is compatible with all other Social Security payments in December. Thus, if we regularly get Supplemental Security Income and also have a Social Security retirement payment, we could cash up to 3 different checks in the same month. Each amount of each check will be unique, in addition, because of the characteristics of the COLA.
AMERICANS WHO CAN GET EXTRA SUPPLEMENTAL SECURITY INCOME
In order to get this extra payment we will have to meet certain conditions. These conditions are mandatory and failure to meet them will mean not getting this payment that perfectly complements our Social Security check.
These are the requirements to get the extra SSI before the end of December:
- Have Supplemental Security Income accepted in advance. If the payment is in the process of being accepted we will not get this payment.
- Activate Direct Deposit. This method of payment is the fastest of all and is key to ensure that the payment arrives the same day it is sent.
If both conditions are met, the payment will arrive on the same day, December 29th. On this day the Administration will send this check to the beneficiaries who have the Supplemental Security Income accepted.
WHY WILL THE EXTRA SSI PAYMENT BE HIGHER?
The Supplemental Security Income amount on December 29th may be as high as $943. This is because we are actually looking at the January 2024 payment of this benefit. And since the payment is actually for January the check has next year’s COLA included.
The reason the payment arrives before January is because January 1st is a holiday. Since it is a holiday, the Administration sends the check on the immediately preceding business day. Therefore, the payment will have the COLA included.
Even so, this does not mean that all beneficiaries can get a payment of $943. This is the maximum payment with the COLA included. So all other beneficiaries who do not have the maximum Supplemental Security Income will simply get 3.2% more of their 2023 benefit.