The Social Security Administration sends checks to United States retirees on different calendar days. Each of these retirees may belong to a different group. So in order to know exactly what day we will receive our next payment, we need to know which group we belong to. It is easy to follow the Social Security calendar to plan our finances.
So the first thing we need to know is which group we belong to. Each beneficiary will belong to one Social Security group or another depending on several factors. Generally speaking, there are two filters that separate retirees into up to four different groups. And although many Americans think that the type of benefit matters, for the purpose of defining on what day we receive our retirement benefits, this information is irrelevant.
The first filter causes retirees to be divided into two groups. The second filter only applies to the second of these groups. In this way, we have two large groups of retirees and within one of these groups we find a division of three other different groups. Anyway, the most important thing of all is that at the end of the month all retirees will receive their retirement check equally.
To all this we must add the method of collection. While it is true that this does not change on what day the Administration will send Social Security, it does change when we receive it. So to these two filters we must add a third one that makes us receive the payment sooner or later.
How to cash your Social Security check on time?
The first thing to keep in mind is that we need to know the payment schedule. By knowing the payment schedule we will be able to determine if our check arrives on time or not. To determine if we will receive the next payment, it is essential to take into account the filters to divide the groups we mentioned before.
These are the filters and the perfect collection method to receive Social Security.
Retirees before 1997
This is the first filter to determine when we will receive our retirement check. The pre-1997 group of beneficiaries receive their check on the 3rd day of the month, with exceptions. This payment may be advanced to the immediately preceding business day if the 3rd day of the month is a holiday or weekend.
It is important to know that there are no distinctions within this group. Any retiree of any age and with any birthday receives the money on the same day. The only requirement to receive Social Security on this day is to have the benefit since before 1997.
Post-1997 retirees
This is the second filter that configures the second large group of retirees. Within this group there are distinctions and each beneficiary will receive his or her payment on one day or another depending on his or her birthday.
The check delivery days for these beneficiaries are the second, third and fourth Wednesday of the month. The groups are configured depending on the birthday. Thus, retirees born between the 1st and 10th, the 11th and 20th, and the 21st and 31st make up three different groups to receive the payment.
Activate Direct Deposit and forget about Social Security delays
Regardless of the day the Social Security Administration pays us our retirement check, activating Direct Deposit is the best option. If we have this type of deposit activated, the money will appear instantly.
If you do not have Direct Deposit, you may experience delays in payments. It can take up to 3 days for the money to show up in the bank account, but that can stretch a little longer depending on several factors.
If you want your Social Security check to arrive without delays, activating Direct Deposit is the best option. So keep this collection method in mind if you want to organize the disposition of your money in the most effective way.