Blank U.S. Treasury checks are run through a printer at the U.S. Treasury printing facility in Philadelphia, Pa., on July 18, 2011. (William Thomas Cain/Getty Images)
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People who receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) are slated to get the first of two payments for September starting this week.
Normally, SSI payments are issued every month, but September is one of three months in 2022 where payments are issued twice in a single month, according to the Social Security Administration’s schedule (pdf). Some will get payments of up to $841 on Sept. 1 and Sept. 30, meaning $1,682 will be doled out this month.
The payment schedule is due to a technicality as some months start on a Sunday. Three months in 2022 gave or will give SSI recipients a payment twice a month, including April, September, and December.
It doesn’t mean that a person will receive more payments, however, according to the schedule. The SSI payment that’s being sent out on Sept. 30 will replace the one that would have been sent on Oct. 1, meaning that no SSI checks will go out in October.
The schedule shows that two payments will be made in December 2022 as well. One will come on Dec. 1 and the other on Dec. 30. Earlier this year, two checks were sent out in April.
Currently, according to the Social Security website, the maximum federal amount for 2022 is $841 for an eligible individual, $1,261 for an eligible individual with an eligible spouse, and $421 for an essential person every month. An “essential personal” is defined by the government as an individual who lives with an SSI recipient and provides them with care.
SSI payments are made to people age 65 and older without disabilities who meet the financial qualifications, according to the federal government, and are designed to provide “monthly payments to adults and children with a disability or blindness who have income and resources below specific financial limits.”
While it is run by the Social Security Administration, SSI—described by the agency as “the nation’s largest welfare program”—is funded by general taxes. Taxes that fund Social Security are separate.
The exact amount people receive from the program on a monthly basis is based on living arrangements, income, and other factors. The maximum SSI amount also changes based on cost-of-living adjustments, with 2022’s rate standing at 5.9 percent.
A recent report from J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. Policy Center said that there should be broad reform to the SSI program, including updates on asset limits and income.
“The current structure of the SSI program places individuals with disabilities who work at risk of losing their economic security,” the report said. “A reformed SSI program would play a crucial role in expanding economic opportunity and mobility for people with disabilities.”
