Millions to Receive Social Security Payments on January 2: Know Your COLA Increase and Payment Dates

Millions of Social Security recipients will receive their first monthly payment of 2026 on January 2, marking the beginning of the Social Security Administration's (SSA) calendar. This group includes those who started receiving retirement benefits, Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or survivor payments before May 1997. Additionally, the SSA will combine payments for Social Security Income (SSI) beneficiaries, who are low-income, low-resource Americans aged 65 or older or disabled. According to the SSA, benefit amounts will see a 2.8% rise in January 2026, resulting in an average monthly increase of $56 for retirement beneficiaries. This means that retired employees, who received an average monthly benefit of $2,013.32 in 2025, will see an increase to $2,069.88. Similarly, handicapped workers will see an increase from $1,588.52 to $1,645.08, and survivors will see an increase from $1,576.20 to $1,632.28. However, beneficiaries who applied for Social Security after May 1997 will receive their payments on different dates based on their birthdates. Those born on the 1st to 10th will receive payments on January 14, those born on the 11th to 20th will receive payments on January 21, and those born on the 21st to 31st will receive payments on January 28. The SSA has published a detailed payment schedule for 2026, which can be accessed online.