Millions of Social Security Beneficiaries See Payment Schedule Change

Millions of Social Security recipients will have their payments skipped this month because of a calendar quirk.
Specifically for the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program, recipients will not receive checks in September because checks are sent on the first of the month. However, because September 1 fell on a Sunday, recipients got their benefits early, on August 30.
The next round of payments won’t come until October 1.
“Obviously, any time there’s disruption to someone’s expected benefits payment, it triggers fear among recipients, but this one is quite minor and has more to do with the calendar,” Alex Beene, a financial literacy instructor for the University of Tennessee at Martin, told Newsweek.
“Since the next payments won’t go out until October 1, this means SSI recipients technically won’t get a check in September, but there is no disruption to the amount of funds they receive.”
More than 7 million people depend on Social Security’s SSI benefits every month, with some recipients earning as much as $943.
Everyone who earns regular Social Security payments will still get their checks on the normal schedule this month. That day depends on your birth date.
On September 11, people born between the 1st and the 10th of the month earn their Social Security benefits. On September 18, those born between the 11th and the 20th get their checks, and those born between the 21st and the 31st get their payments on September 25.
Kevin Thompson, a finance expert and founder and CEO of 9i Capital Group, called the schedule skip a “quirk” in the system but said it should not impact beneficiaries financially.
“It is really no issue since the payment should have actually been received earlier than normally anticipated,” Thompson told Newsweek. “So, in essence, it is not truly a skipped payment, but a double payment in the month of August.”
Payments will continue to go out normally for the remainder of the year.
The SSA also announced last week that physical signatures would no longer be required on more than 30 forms for benefits applications. Instead, digital signatures will be accepted on these forms, and 13 forms will no longer require signatures at all.
“The SSA is trying to feel its way into this digital world without compromising security,” Thompson said. “The need for digital signatures should speed up the processing times and automate processes that should have been automated years ago.”
Previously, forms that required a physical signature made up 90 percent of the most commonly used forms in field offices. Roughly 14 million signed forms are submitted annually.
“Across forms that Americans use most often, we’re eliminating as many pain points as possible, from helping people sign at the click of a button to reducing the need to drive or mail something in whenever possible,” Social Security Commissioner Martin O’Malley said in a statement.
“This means faster and more error-free processing and better service for our customers, who deserve a government that meets their needs efficiently and effectively.”