Who will receive Social Security payments on January 2? Eligibility and 2026 COLA increase explained

Social security payments begin on January 2, 2026. Here are the groups who will receive the first payment on January 2.

Published on: Jan 2, 2026, 04:29:11 IST

By Shirin Gupta

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Social Security recipients will receive their first monthly payment of the year on Friday, January 2, which is designated as the beginning of the Social Security Administration's (SSA) calendar.

Social security payments begin on January 2, 2026. Here are the groups who will receive the first payment on January 2. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File) (AP)

Here is all the information on the groups who will receive the payment on January 2:

Who receives the payment?

Benefit beneficiaries who began receiving retirement benefits, Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or survivor payments before May 1997 will get paid on Friday, January 2, 2026 .

According to Marca, the payment will also be combined to pay the Social Security Income (SSI) beneficiaries, aimed at low-income, low-resource Americans who are 65 or older or disabled.

How much is the payment for these groups?

Benefit amounts will rise beginning in January 2026. As part of the yearly cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), SSA revealed that beneficiaries will receive a 2.8% rise in their monthly payouts.

According to the SSA, this equates to an average monthly increase of $56 for retirement beneficiaries.

Retired employees received an average monthly benefit of $2,013.32 till the end of 2025; handicapped workers received an average monthly benefit of $1,588.52; and survivors received an average monthly benefit of $1,576.20.

Given that, all these previous amounts will be adjusted accordingly with the addition of the $56 COLA increase. To gain more insight and the exact details on the amount you will receive, see the COLA fact sheet published by SSA.

What is the schedule for the other recipients?

Birthdates are used to determine the payment dates for beneficiaries who applied after May 1997.

Beneficiaries whose birthday is dated 1 to 10 of the month will receive the payment on Wednesday, January 14. Similarly, birthdays from 11th to 20th will receive payment on Wednesday, January 21, and birthdays from 21 to 31 is scheduled to receive payment on Wednesday, January 28.

The three Wednesday payment dates are as late as possible in January because the month starts on a Thursday. You may view the complete SSA payment schedule for 2026 on their online calendar.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shirin Gupta
Shirin Gupta is a content producer with the Hindustan Times. She covers everything between politics, entertainment and sports at the US desk. Shirin got interested in political journalism during her time as a web editor at her college newspaper NCC News in Syracuse when she first started seeing the effects of national politics in life of her fellow colleagues. Shirin has worked on a wide range of fast-moving and developing stories locally when she was at NCC editing accessible reports for the audience. Her current role requires her to track real-time updates, verify information and present balanced coverage across diverse beats. Covering US politics from an international newsroom perspective has further deepened her understanding of how domestic decisions can have far-reaching global consequences. With a keen interest in international affairs, Shirin continues to build her expertise in geopolitics, policy shifts, and cross-border developments. She aims to learn and evolve her reporting in matters of geopolitics and international issues. Outside the newsroom Shirin writes about books and music for her personal blog. She is an avid consumer of pop culture and reveres literature.Read More

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