2022 Social Security payment schedule: When to expect checks

The Social Security Administration has released the 2022 calendar that shows when to expect payments.

Millions of retirees on Social Security will get a 5.9% boost in benefits for 2022. The biggest cost-of-living adjustment in 39 years follows a burst in inflation as the economy struggles to shake off the drag of the coronavirus pandemic.

The COLA, as it’s commonly called, amounts to an added $92 a month for the average retired worker, according to estimates Wednesday from the Social Security Administration. It’s an abrupt break from a long lull in inflation that saw cost-of-living adjustments averaging just 1.65% a year over the past 10 years.

With the increase, the estimated average Social Security payment for a retired worker will be $1,657 a month next year. A typical couple’s benefits would rise by $154 to $2,753 per month.

Related: IRS issues tax year 2022 annual inflation adjustments: What to know

SS checks arrive on a different day of the month depending on the beneficiaries’ birthday.

“Any birthdays that fall between the first and the 10th will be paid on the second Wednesday of each month. Those born between the 11th and 20th will be paid on the third Wednesday of the month. And those born between the 21st and 31st will be paid on the fourth Wednesday of the month.”

Here’s the 2022 Social Security payment calendar:

Listed exceptions to the schedule: Payments will be sent on the third of each month when:

• You first filed for benefits before May 1997
• You are receiving a Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security payments
• The state pays for your Medicare premiums
• You live in a foreign country
• For those who receive SSI benefits but do not get Social Security payments, their scheduled payment date will be on the first of each month.

The COLA affects household budgets for about 1 in 5 Americans. That includes Social Security recipients, disabled veterans and federal retirees, nearly 70 million people in all. For baby boomers who embarked on retirement within the past 15 years, it will be the biggest increase they’ve seen.

More: Social Security checks getting big boost as inflation rises