Social Security Pay Schedule for 2017

The Social Security Administration, or SSA, has released its calendar of Social Security payment dates for 2017. The deposit calendar includes different payment dates depending on beneficiaries' birth dates, how long they've been collecting benefits, and whether they receive Supplemental Security Income.

When will you get your monthly benefit?

For most people who receive Social Security benefits, there are three different payment dates, depending on the beneficiary's date of birth. (Note: If you started receiving Social Security retirement benefits before May 1997, skip to the next section – these payment dates don't apply to you.)

• If your birthday falls on the first through tenth, then your Social Security benefits will be paid on the second Wednesday of each month.
• If your birthday falls on the 11th through 20th, your Social Security benefits will be paid on the third Wednesday of each month.
• If your birthday falls on the 21st through 31st, your Social Security benefits will be paid on the fourth Wednesday of each month.

Image source: Getty Images.

For 2017, the specific dates of your Social Security retirement benefit payments are:

Data source: Social Security Administration.

One important takeaway is that because these payments aren't on the same day each month, there are some months in which the time between payments is relatively long. For example, the time between your November 2017 payment and December 2017 payment is one month and five days. Be sure to take this into account when budgeting.

Were you getting benefits before May 1997?

If you started receiving Social Security benefits before May 1997, then the dates in the chart above don't apply to you. Instead, your benefit will be paid on the third of every month.

If the third day of the month happens to fall on a Saturday or Sunday, then your benefit will be paid on the Friday before. For example, Sept. 3, 2017 is a Sunday, so this group of beneficiaries will be paid on Friday, Sept. 1.

This schedule also applies if you receive both Social Security retirement benefits and Supplemental Security Income (SSI).

Do you only get Supplemental Security Income (SSI)?

Finally, if you receive SSI but no other type of Social Security benefits, then your monthly payment will be made on the first of each month. If the first falls on a Saturday or Sunday, then your SSI benefit will be paid on the Friday before. For example, July 1, 2017 is a Saturday, so SSI recipients will be paid on Friday, June 30.

The Social Security Administration provides a calendar that you can print out to help you remember your pay dates.

How much will your 2017 Social Security payments be?

The short answer -- probably about the same as they were in 2016. Because of low inflation, the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for 2017 is just 0.3%. Furthermore, most Social Security recipients won't even see this increase, as Medicare premiums will rise by a similar amount, and these are withheld from benefit payments. In a nutshell, if you're getting, say, $1,000 per month now, you should probably expect the same in 2017.

It's vitally important to understand the basics of this key program.