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Some Social Security recipients won’t get benefit checks in September. Here’s why.
Millions of Social Security recipients won’t receive a benefit check this month due to a quirk of the calendar. The issue impacts people who receive Social Security’s Supplemental Security Income (SSI), a program for disabled adults as well as low-income seniors.
The quirk isn’t a new development, as the Social Security Administration sets its annual payment schedule well in advance of the year (See here for the 2024 schedule and here for the 2025 payment dates.) But the lack of a payment this month could still come as a rude surprise to some beneficiaries who weren’t prepared for or aware of the shift in payment dates.
Typically, SSI recipients receive their checks on the first of the month. But because September 1 fell on a Saturday this year, SSI payments for the month were sent on Friday, August 30. That means the next SSI checks will be deposited on Tuesday, October 1, with no deposits occurring in September.
About 7.5 million people receive SSI benefits, with the maximum monthly benefit set at $943 per individual, according to Social Security data. By comparison, the average payment for Social Security retirement benefits is $1,907 per month.
Seniors who receive regular Social Security retirement benefits will receive their checks this month as usual. The pension system sends out its regular monthly checks based on the day of the month on which your birthday falls.
For September, the payments will be deposited on the following dates:
- September 11: People born between the 1st and 10th of the month
- September 18: Those born between the 11th and the 20th of the month
- September 25: People with birth dates that fall between the 21st and the 31st
Supplemental Security Income application changes
Separately, the Social Security Administration said last week that it is overhauling its process for applying for Supplemental Security Income.
The new system will start in December with an online application that streamlines the process, according to the agency’s statement. A simplified initial application, called the iClaim, will use plan-language questions and will pre-populate questions with answers where possible. The goal is to reduce the time and effort required to complete the form, as well as to speed up claims processing.
“People in our communities who need this crucial safety net deserve the dignity of an application process that is less burdensome and more accessible than what we now have, and we’re committed to achieving that vision over the next few years,” Martin O’Malley, commissioner of Social Security, said in a statement.
The initial rollout will be aimed at first-time applicants between 18 and 65 who have never married and are also concurrently applying for Social Security benefits and SSI, the agency said. The second phase of the rollout, scheduled for late 2025, will include all SSI applicants, it added.
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Yellowstone hiker burned when she falls into scalding water near Old Faithful, park officials say
Yellowstone National Park, Wyo. — A New Hampshire woman suffered severe burns on her leg after hiking off-trail in Yellowstone National Park and falling into scalding water in a thermal area near the Old Faithful geyser, park officials said.
The 60-year-old woman from Windsor, New Hampshire, along with her husband and their leashed dog were walking off a designated trail near the Mallard Lake Trailhead on Monday afternoon when she broke through a thin crust over the water and suffered second- and third-degree burns to her lower leg, park officials said. Her husband and the dog weren’t injured.
The woman was flown to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls, Idaho for treatment.
National Park Service / Jacob W. Frank
Park visitors are reminded to stay on boardwalks and trails in hydrothermal areas and exercise extreme caution. The ground in those areas is fragile and thin and there’s scalding water just below the surface, park officials said.
Pets are allowed in limited, developed areas of Yellowstone park but are prohibited on boardwalks, hiking trails, in the backcountry and in thermal areas.
The incident is under investigation. The woman’s name wasn’t made public.
This is the first known thermal injury in Yellowstone in 2024, park officials said in a statement. The park had recorded 3.5 million visitors through August this year.
Hot springs have injured and killed more people in Yellowstone National Park than any other natural feature, the National Park Service said. At least 22 people have died from hot spring-related injuries in and around the 3,471-square-mile national park since 1890, park officials have said.
TRENTON, N.J. — Democratic Newark City Council President LaMonica McIver has defeated Republican small businessman Carmen Bucco in a contest in New Jersey’s 10th Congressional District that opened up because of the death of Rep. Donald Payne Jr. in April.
McIver will serve out the remainder of Payne’s term, which ends in January. She and Bucco will face a rematch on the November ballot for the full term.
McIver said in a statement Wednesday that she stands on the “shoulders of giants,” naming Payne as chief among them.
She cast ahead to the November election, saying the right to make reproductive health choices was on the ballot as well as whether the economy should benefit the wealthy or “hard working Americans.”
“I will fight because the purpose of politics and the purpose of our vote is to give the people of our communities and our nation a bold voice,” she said.
Bucco congratulated McIver on the victory in a statement but said he’s looking forward to the rematch in November.
“I am not going anywhere,” he said in an email. “We still have a second chance to make district 10 great again!”
Who are LaMonica McIver and Carmen Bucco?
McIver emerged as the Democratic candidate in a crowded field in the July special election. A member of the city council of New Jersey’s biggest city since 2018, she also worked for Montclair Public Schools as a personnel director and plans to focus on affordability, infrastructure, abortion rights and “protecting our democracy,” she told The Associated Press earlier this summer.
Bucco describes himself on his campaign website as a small-business owner influenced by his upbringing in the foster system. He lists support for law enforcement and ending corruption as top issues.
The 10th District lies in a heavily Democratic and majority-Black region of northern New Jersey. Republicans are outnumbered by more than 6 to 1.
It’s been a volatile year for Democrats in New Jersey, where the party dominates state government and the congressional delegation.
Among the developments were the conviction on federal bribery charges of U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, who has denied the charges, and the demise of the so-called county party line — a system in which local political leaders give their preferred candidates favorable position on the primary ballot.
Democratic Rep. Andy Kim, who’s running for Menendez’s seat, and other Democrats brought a federal lawsuit challenging the practice as part of his campaign to oust Menendez, who has resigned since his conviction.
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Yellowstone hiker burned when she falls into scalding water near Old Faithful, park officials say
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Yellowstone hiker burned when she falls into scalding water near Old Faithful, park officials say
Wagon rolls over at Wisconsin apple orchard injuring about 25 children and adults