Social Security update as payments of up to $5,181 arriving this week

Key Points:

• Social Security payments for August will be issued on August 26 to beneficiaries with birthdays between the 21st and 31st, following earlier payments on August 12 and 19 for other birthday groups.
• Over 75.7 million Americans received Social Security or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) in July, with average monthly benefits around $2,085.98 for retired workers and $1,940.08 overall.
• Social Security benefits received a 2.8% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for 2026, with the 2027 COLA estimate ranging between 3.5% and 3.6%, to be officially announced in mid-October.
• Senator Bernie Sanders has proposed legislation to stop the federal government from garnishing Social Security benefits to collect defaulted federal student loan debt, aiming to protect retirement and disability payments from offsets that can reduce low-income beneficiaries below poverty levels.
• September Social Security payment dates are staggered by birthday groups, with SSI recipients paid on September 1 and other groups receiving payments between September 3 and September 23.