The moment a United States citizen starts getting a check from the United States Social Security means they can know their monthly budget. And that budget on average in 2024 is $1,650, but that does not imply that all Americans will get such a high figure.
Recipients of this benefit can have a check for up to $4,873 as well, but as with the average check of $1,650 per month, not all Americans get that figure. Each Social Security beneficiary gets an entirely different payment.
Who gets the average $1,650 check in the next few days?
The last day the Social Security Administration will send out the new retirement check in May will be the 22nd. After that payment, there are no more May calendar checks available to retirees. There is an extra check on the 31st, but that payment is additional and actually belongs to the June calendar.
Thus, we have to meet several requirements to get the May 22nd payment:
- Have an accepted Social Security benefit. It does not matter if it is for disability, age retirement or any other reason.
- Have that retirement benefit from May 1997 onward. If the payment began before that date, then we do not meet this requirement.
- Have a birthday between the 21st and 31st of any month. This will make us belong to group 4 retirees.
Only by fulfilling all these requirements will the Social Security Administration send us a check for retirement on this day. So make sure you meet all of them so you know if you will get your payment on May 22nd, 2024.
Can I increase my monthly Social Security check?
Actually, retirees who are already collecting Social Security checks cannot actively increase their benefit. That is, Social Security retirement checks can increase once a year, but only because of the COLA.
So retirees can’t do anything to get extra money in their Social Security retirement check each month. So make sure you know how much you get and budget your monthly budget accordingly.
If your monthly Social Security payment is too small, you can always apply for Supplemental Security Income. Thanks to this extra benefit you can have a total of up to $943 per month.