If you’re getting retirement or disability benefits through Social Security in the USA, it’s important to know when your payment is coming and how things are changing in 2025. July is bringing updates not just to the payment dates, but also a final move away from paper checks. Let’s make sense of everything in easy terms.
When Will You Get Your Social Security Check in July 2025?
If you started receiving retirement benefits after May 1997, then your monthly payment date depends on your birthdate. The Social Security Administration (SSA) sends out payments on the second, third, and fourth Wednesdays of the month.
Here’s the full July 2025 schedule:
Wednesday, July 9 – If your birthday is between the 1st and 10th
Wednesday, July 16 – If your birthday is between the 11th and 20th
Wednesday, July 23 – If your birthday is between the 21st and 31st
If any of these Wednesdays falls on a public holiday, then the payment is made one day earlier (on Tuesday). This helps avoid delays caused by holidays.
What About People Who Got Benefits Before May 1997?
If you started getting Social Security payments before May 1997, your check comes on the 3rd of every month, no matter your birthday. For those getting Supplemental Security Income (SSI), the payment always comes on the 1st of every month. The holiday rule also applies here—if the 1st or 3rd is a holiday or weekend, your money comes earlier.
Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) in 2025
To help with rising prices, Social Security payments went up by 2.5% in January 2025. This increase will last until December. The average Social Security payment is now about $1,976 per month, compared to $1,927 in 2024.
In May 2025, for the first time, average payments crossed $2,000, reaching $2,002.39, but have slightly decreased since. If you qualify for the maximum benefit (by retiring at 67 or 70), here’s what you could get:
$4,018/month – Retiring at age 67
$5,108/month – Retiring at age 70
For SSI, the maximum monthly amount is $967 for individuals and $1,450 for couples.
Big News: Paper Checks Are Ending in October 2025
The Social Security Administration is making a big move in October 2025—no more paper checks. All payments will be digital from that point on. This change was first planned in 2013, but some people were still receiving paper checks because of special exemptions.
Now, that option is going away forever.
If you still get paper checks, it’s very important to act now. If you don’t switch to electronic payments before October, your payments might be delayed or even stopped temporarily.
What You Should Do Immediately
To avoid losing your money, here’s what you need to do:
Choose direct deposit – Link your bank account by visiting www.ssa.gov or calling 1-800-772-1213. Have your bank account and routing number ready.
Get a Direct Express card – If you don’t have a bank account, the SSA can send your money to this special government debit card every month.
Check your information – Even if you’re already set up for electronic payments, check that your bank details are still correct.
Get help if you need it – If you have a disability or trouble updating your info, contact SSA. You may qualify for help or an exception.
Inform family or caregivers – If you know someone elderly who still gets checks, make sure they know about this change.
Why This Change Matters
The goal of removing paper checks is to stop fraud, theft, and delays. It also saves millions of dollars each year in printing and mailing costs. Most people already get digital payments, but now it’s mandatory for everyone.