No, Social Security recipients will not receive a bonus payment in September

Social Security was created in 1935 to pay retired workers age 65 or older a continuing income after retirement. Currently, 1 in 5 Americans receives a Social Security benefit from the U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA). 

Typically, these are set payments that come like clockwork each month. But VERIFY viewer Tom wants to know whether Social Security recipients will get a bonus payment next month.

THE QUESTION

Will Social Security recipients receive a bonus payment in September?

THE SOURCES

• Social Security Administration (SSA)
• AARP

THE ANSWER

No, Social Security recipients will not receive a bonus payment in September. 

Millions of Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients will receive two payments in September, but it is not an extra payment. Instead, the second deposit is just the October payment a day early.

WHAT WE FOUND

Social Security payments are sent out on a strict schedule. Most retirees get their payments on the second, third or fourth Wednesday of each month, depending on their birth date. 

But AARP says people who receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI), such as those who are blind, disabled, or at least 65 years old with very limited financial resources, typically get their payments on the first of the month. This can be a problem if the first falls on a weekend or federal holiday when banks are closed, like it does on Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022. 

More from VERIFY: No, all Americans are not receiving checks worth $1,657

To combat this issue, SSI payments are sent out the next earliest business day. So this year, SSI recipients will get paid on Sept. 1 and Sept. 30. However, this is not a bonus payment for the month of September – SSI recipients are just getting their October payment one day earlier.

Earlier this year, SSI recipients received two payments in April. They are also set to receive two payments in December. The same schedule adjustment also applies to other Social Security payments if the date falls on a holiday, AARP says.