SSI Recipients Will See Two Payments in December, With the Dec. 31 Deposit Carrying the New $1,029 Maximum

Within a single month, from Dec. 1 to Dec. 31, 2026, Supplemental Security Income recipients are scheduled to receive two deposits. The first is the regular December payment. The second, on New Year’s Eve, is January’s payment arriving a day early, and it is the first to carry the 2027 raise, with a new federal maximum of $1,029 a month for an individual.

The double month is a calendar shift, not a bonus. It also means there will be no SSI deposit in January 2027.

Why the January SSI Payment Arrives on Dec. 31

SSI is normally paid on the first of each month. The Social Security Administration’s 2026 payment calendar lists the general rule that SSI goes out on the 1st, which puts the December payment on Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2026.

The trouble comes with January. The agency’s 2027 payment calendar shows the January SSI date as Friday, Jan. 1, 2027, which is New Year’s Day, a federal holiday.

Federal regulations already cover that situation. Under 20 CFR 416.502, when the first of the month falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, SSI “payments will be made on the first day preceding such day which is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday.” The closest business day before Jan. 1, 2027, is Thursday, Dec. 31, 2026.

The SSA confirmed the date in its COLA guidance, which says increased SSI payments under the 3.6% cost-of-living adjustment begin with the Dec. 31, 2026, payment.

The same shift happens in other years whenever the first of the month lands on a weekend or holiday, which is why some months show two payments and the following month shows none. A similar double payment in May followed the same rule.

How Much the Dec. 31 Deposit Will Be

The Dec. 1 payment is still calculated at 2026 rates. The Dec. 31 deposit is the first one figured at 2027 rates. The SSA said in its Oct. 14 COLA announcement that about 7.3 million SSI recipients will see the increase, and that their higher payments begin on Dec. 31.

According to the SSA’s SSI federal payment standard table, the 2027 monthly maximums are:

• Eligible individual: $1,029, up from $994 in 2026.
• Eligible couple: $1,544, up from $1,491.
• Essential person: $516.

For an individual receiving the full federal amount, the change works out to $35 more a month. That same person would receive $994 on Dec. 1 and $1,029 on Dec. 31, for a total of $2,023 deposited in December and nothing in January.

The actuary’s office explains how the new figures are set. The 3.6% increase is applied to the unrounded annual amounts from 2026, which for an individual was $11,929.46, and the result is divided by 12 and rounded down to the next whole dollar.

The SSA’s 2027 COLA fact sheet shows the same $994 and $1,029 figures for individuals and $1,491 and $1,544 for couples.

Not every recipient receives the full maximum. The actuary’s page notes that the monthly payment is reduced by a recipient’s countable income, and that for a couple in which both spouses are eligible, the payment is divided equally between them. Some states also add their own supplement on top of the federal amount, so the total deposit can vary by state.

SSI is aimed at people with very little income and very few resources. According to the SSA’s SSI program page, adults and children can qualify if they meet those financial limits and are disabled, blind or age 65 or older. The agency says the monthly amount depends on income, living situation, what the person owns and other factors, and it points recipients toward related help such as SNAP and Medicaid.

The rules on savings do not change with the COLA. The fact sheet lists the SSI resource limit at $2,000 for an individual and $3,000 for a couple in both 2026 and 2027. The student earned income exclusion rises to $2,500 a month and $10,080 a year in 2027.

Planning Around Two December Deposits

Because the Dec. 31 payment is meant to cover January, recipients who spend it in December will have nothing new arriving until the February payment. The 2027 calendar lists SSI on the first of each month, so the next deposit after Dec. 31 is scheduled for Feb. 1, 2027, a Monday.

That gap matters most for rent, utilities and other bills due early in January. Treating the Dec. 31 money as January’s budget, rather than as extra holiday cash, keeps the household on its normal monthly cycle.

COLA notices follow later this fall. The SSA says recipients who created a my Social Security account and opted into paperless notices by Nov. 18, 2026, can read their notice in the online Message Center starting in late November, while others will receive a letter by mail in December. Mail delivery varies, and the agency advises waiting until January before calling about a mailed notice that has not arrived.

More background on who receives SSI and how the payments work is in this earlier guide to SSI payment days and who qualifies.

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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.

Image: J. Passepartout – CC BY-SA 4.0/Wikimedia Commons