The Social Security Administration (SSA) has announced some bad news for SSA beneficiaries. This June, all SSA payments will be on pause until mid-June. While this is a rather unusual and unexpected pause in benefits, it is clear that SSA beneficiaries will not receive any payments between May 28 and June 12, 2025. The disruption in payment from the SSA is merely based on the calendar and the way the dates fall, however, the idea of not receiving payment for 15 days does pose a financial challenge for many Americans who depend solely on the predictability of payment dates.
Why are SSA payments paused until mid-June?
Although rather unsettling, the delay in June’s payment is not a result of policy change, but rather due to the generally followed distribution schedule of the SSA. The SSA tends to distribute payments according to the birth dates of recipients as well as the benefit types. The calendar for June affects when SSI and Social Security benefits will be paid out.
Generally, it works in such a way that:
- SSI recipients (Supplemental Security Income) are paid on the 1st of each month, or the previous business day if the 1st falls on a weekend. This June, beneficiaries received their payments in May.
- Recipients who began receiving benefits before May 1997 receive payments on the 3rd of each month.
- All other Social Security recipients are paid from the second Wednesday of the month, and citizens can receive payments on the second, third, or fourth Wednesday of the month based on when in the month their birth date falls.
With June 1 falling on a weekend and the next round of SSA payments will only be going out by Wednesday, June 12, to citizens born between the 1st and 10th of any month, it does seem like a long break before payments start rolling out. While the SSA cannot be blamed for this two-week break in payment, many citizens may find the wait challenging.
Challenges faced by low-income Social Security beneficiaries
The pause in payments is rather unsettling, particularly for low-income households who already face the challenge of staying financially afloat despite inflation, food insecurity, and housing costs. While specific programs catered to address the nutritional needs of citizens are available, these benefits are distributed differently in every state. SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) payments go out to citizens much later in the month, which may add to the tension of having to wait longer for SSA payments, too.
While it is possible for citizens to make the most of their SNAP benefits, certain states are becoming stricter on what SNAP recipients can purchase with their EBT cards. In the state of Nebraska, USDA approval has been received to ban the use of EBT cards for buying soda and energy drinks. More states are also following suit. Most low-income households depend on SSA payments, as these payments are far less restrictive in terms of what citizens can or cannot buy.
Ways to deal with the SSA payment pause
As per the Social Security payment schedule, citizens need to plan well for this payment gap, as they will receive their payments later this month than expected. Citizens can stay financially afloat during this period by:
- Relying on SSA tools: Citizens will need to have logged into “My Social Security” at SSA.gov so as to confirm the next possible payment date and to avoid panic if payment is not received as expected.
- Change automatic payments: If certain payments go off on a certain date every month, changes can be made to these automatic payments to prolong the payment of certain expenses until benefits are received.
While the calendar can be blamed for a shift in the general SSA payment period, citizens can rest assured that this break in payment does not signify a payment cut or an ongoing monthly pause in payment. While SSI beneficiaries benefited from double payments in May, there are some Social Security beneficiaries who will feel disrupted due to this payment gap.
