Social Security payments, which cover retirement, disability, and survivor benefits, are made monthly on a staggered schedule based on the beneficiary’s date of birth or certain special circumstances.
Since June 1997, the Social Security Administration (SSA) has used this system to avoid congestion by assigning payments on specific dates: the third day of the month for some cases and the second, third, and fourth Wednesdays for others, depending on the date of birth.
In 2025, a 2.5% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) was applied, raising the average benefit to $1,976 per month for individual retirees and $3,089 for couples, while the average disability benefit was $1,580.
Detailed Social Security schedule in March 2025
The payment schedule for March 2025 follows this scheme, and the amounts already reflect the COLA increase implemented in January.
Furthermore, the Social Security Fairness Act, signed in 2023 and effective in early 2025, has resulted in retroactive payments for over 3.2 million beneficiaries affected by the benefit elimination provision (WEP) and the government pension offset (GPO), which primarily affect public employees such as teachers, firefighters, and police officers.
The payment schedule for March 2025 is detailed below, based on official information (Payments are made electronically and are scheduled according to specific criteria):
- February 28 for advance SSI payments due to falling on a Saturday on March 1.
- March 3 for beneficiaries who began receiving benefits before May 1997, reside abroad, receive both SSI and Social Security, or have state-paid Medicare premiums.
- March 12 for those born between the 1st and the 10th.
- March 19 for those born between the 11th and the 20th.
- March 26 for those born between the 21st and the 31st.
Cost of living adjustment and updated benefits
In 2025, the 2.5% cost of living adjustment (COLA) increased Social Security benefits to reflect the rising cost of living.
This adjustment increased the average monthly benefit to $1,976 for individual retirees and $3,089 for couples, while disability beneficiaries now receive an average of $1,580 per month. This increase is intended to maintain the beneficiaries’ purchasing power in the face of inflation.
Retroactive payments and the Social Security Fairness Act
As of February 2025, the SSA began processing retroactive payments for more than 3.2 million beneficiaries affected by the WEP and GPO provisions, which were repealed by the Social Security Fairness Act in 2023.
These payments, which cover retroactive increases beginning in January 2024, are deposited directly into the bank accounts on file, with the majority expected to be completed by the end of March 2025.
As of March 4, 2025, SSA had distributed payments to over 1.1 million people, with an average monthly increase of $360 for over 2.5 million beneficiaries. This process is especially beneficial to public employees, whose benefits were previously reduced by the eliminated rules.