Aug. 24, 2026, 5:05 a.m. ET

The third and final wave of Social Security payments for August is scheduled to be distributed this week, following a normal schedule.

Social Security benefits – paid mostly to recipients who are older or retired – are typically scheduled to go out on Wednesdays.

Social Security faces a shortfall as soon as 2032. If Congress does nothing, research suggests, retirees will see a 28% cut in monthly benefits. That has caused several groups to propose their own ways to fix the program.

Among them was a Washington think tank that caused a stir with a paper that proposed capping annual Social Security benefits at $100,000 to shore up the retirement trust fund.

Here’s what you need to know about this week’s Social Security payments.

Who gets their Social Security payment this week?

Beneficiaries who were born between the 21st and the last day of their birth month are set to receive their monthly Social Security benefit on Wednesday, Aug. 26, according to the SSA’s payment calendar.

When are Social Security payments sent?

Social Security benefits – mainly paid to recipients who are older or retired – are typically paid on Wednesdays.

If a recipient’s birthdate is between the first and 10th of the month, they are usually issued payments on the second Wednesday of the payment month, according to the SSA’s calendar. Recipients born between the 11th and 20th are paid on the third Wednesday, and those born after the 20th are paid on the fourth Wednesday.

For those who received Social Security before May 1997, you can expect your payment on the third day of the month, unless it falls on a weekend or holiday

Individuals who receive both Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) can expect their Social Security payment on the third day of the month and their SSI payment on the first day of the month.

Full 2026 Social Security payment calendar

SSI payment schedule for the rest of 2026

Recipients of Supplemental Security Income (SSI) checks typically receive payments on the first business day of the month. But in August, the first day of the month fell on a Saturday; therefore, the payment for August was sent on Friday, July 31.

Here are the dates for SSI payments for 2026, according to the SSA calendar:

Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2026 (Check for September 2026)

Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026 (Check for October 2026)

Friday, Oct. 30, 2026 (Check for November 2026)

Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2026 (Check for December 2026)

Friday, Dec. 31, 2026 (Check for January 2027)

USA TODAY’s Mike Snider contributed to this report.

Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at fernando.cervantes@gannett.com and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.