Social Security Payment Schedule January 2027: Dates by Birthday and the First 3.6% Raise

The Social Security Administration (SSA) pays benefits to people with birthdays on the 1st through the 10th on Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2027, the first payments with the 3.6% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) announced Oct. 14, 2026. Birthdays on the 11th through the 20th are paid Wednesday, Jan. 20, and the 21st through the 31st Wednesday, Jan. 27. The printable at the end of this story marks each date.

When does each group get paid in January 2027?

Date	Who is paid
Thursday, Dec. 31, 2026	Benefits started before May 1997, or Social Security plus Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
Thursday, Dec. 31, 2026	SSI for January 2027
Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2027	Birthdays on the 1st to the 10th
Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2027	Birthdays on the 11th to the 20th
Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2027	Birthdays on the 21st to the 31st
Monday, Feb. 1, 2027	SSI for February 2027

SSA pays retirement, survivor and disability benefits on the second, third and fourth Wednesday of the month by birth date. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Monday, Jan. 18, 2027, moves no date because no payment is due that day. Mark the month on the January 2027 printable calendar.

Who is paid on Dec. 31, and why is January’s statement empty?

• Pre-May 1997 group: the 3rd is normally the payday. Jan. 3, 2027 is a Sunday and Jan. 1 is New Year’s Day, so the payment is made on the last business day before, Thursday, Dec. 31, 2026.
• SSI recipients: SSI is normally paid on the 1st. Jan. 1 is a federal holiday, so January’s SSI is also paid Dec. 31.
• What you will see: the money shows on the December statement. No SSI payment is dated in January 2027, and February’s SSI arrives Monday, Feb. 1, a weekday, so it does not shift.

SSI recipients see the 3.6% raise first, on Dec. 31, 2026. Our December schedule lists that month’s dates, and the December 2026 printable calendar has room to mark them.

What does a 3.6% raise look like on a monthly benefit?

SSA announced the 3.6% COLA on Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2026, and says the average retired worker gets about $75 a month more. The table below is our arithmetic, a straight 3.6% on round example amounts before SSA’s rounding. Your COLA notice shows your exact amount.

Monthly benefit before	After a 3.6% raise	Difference
$1,000	$1,036	$36
$1,500	$1,554	$54
$2,000	$2,072	$72
$2,500	$2,590	$90
$3,000	$3,108	$108

Other 2027 figures from SSA:

Item	2026	2027
SSI federal payment standard, individual	$994	$1,029
SSI federal payment standard, couple	$1,491	$1,544
Maximum benefit at full retirement age	$4,152	$4,188

These are SSA’s published amounts, not our arithmetic. The details are in Social Security COLA 2027 is 3.6%.

Will Medicare change the January deposit?

It can. The Medicare Part B premium is deducted from the benefit for most enrollees, so the January net payment depends on it. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) had not announced the 2027 standard premium as of Nov. 2, 2026. For reference, the 2026 standard premium was $202.90 a month, according to CMS. Treat that as last year’s figure, not a 2027 forecast.

How is your Social Security payment date set?

• Birthday on the 1st to the 10th: second Wednesday of the month.
• Birthday on the 11th to the 20th: third Wednesday.
• Birthday on the 21st to the 31st: fourth Wednesday.
• Benefits started before May 1997, or Social Security plus SSI: the 3rd of the month; SSI on the 1st.
• Weekends and federal holidays: paid the business day before.

For households that also get food benefits, see the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) schedule for January 2027.

Print the January 2027 payment dates

The free one-page sheet lists the Dec. 31 payments, the three January Wednesdays and the Feb. 1 SSI date. Source: SSA’s payment schedule and its Oct. 14, 2026 announcement.