The Social Security Administration is sending out benefits on Feb. 3: who gets a payment?

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Early next week, certain Social Security recipients in the United States are to be issued their monthly payment for February 2026.

The distribution date benefits two groups of Americans who claim one of the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) retirement, disability or survivor benefits.

Who’s getting paid by Social Security on Tuesday, Feb. 3?

Certain long-term beneficiaries

The SSA is to send out payments to some long-standing recipients of retirement, disability or survivor pay: specifically, those who have been claiming any of these benefits since before May 1997.

Beneficiaries also on SSI

Feb. 3 is also your payment date for retirement, disability or survivor benefits if you combine any of these programs with Supplemental Security Income (SSI) – a scheme for low-income people who are over 65 or have a disability.

February’s SSI money, meanwhile, is to go out four days earlier, on Friday, Jan. 30.

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How much are retirement, disability and survivor benefits?

As of December 2025 – the most recent monthly figures published by the SSA – retired workers got an average of $2,071.30 a month. Disabled workers were paid a monthly average of $1,633.19, and beneficiaries of survivor payments received an average of $1,620.95 per month.

From January, however, benefit amounts were to increase by 2.8%, as part of the SSA’s annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA). For recipients of retirement benefits – who represent the majority of Social Security beneficiaries – this means an average monthly rise of $56, the SSA has said.

When do other Social Security recipients get their benefits for February 2026?

If not among those paid on Feb. 3, recipients of retirement, disability or survivor benefits are to get their money on the second, third or fourth Wednesday in February.

A beneficiary’s designated Wednesday depends on the date of birth of the worker whose Social Security taxes have accumulated the benefits entitlement:

Born on 1st-10th of month: Weds., Feb. 11
Born on 11th-20th of month: Weds., Feb. 18
Born on 21st-31st of month: Weds., Feb. 25

You can check out the SSA’s complete schedule of payments for 2026 in this online calendar.

How would a government shutdown affect Social Security payments?

Amid a standoff over funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the U.S. government could be set for a shutdown – having already endured a 43-day stoppage in October and November.

Following the killings of Renée Good and Alex Pretti by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis, Senate Democrats are pushing back on approving a wide-ranging appropriations package that includes money for the DHS. If Congress does not pass the package by Friday, Jan. 30, government will enter another shutdown.

As was also the case in last fall’s shutdown, however, SSA beneficiaries would continue to receive their monthly payments as normal. In a shutdown contingency plan published last September, the agency stated its commitment to uninterrupted benefits, pledging to “continue activities critical to […] ensure accurate and timely payment“.

How does Social Security make benefits payments?

The SSA says it is “in most cases” no longer issuing benefits in paper-check format. Instead, the agency offers beneficiaries two ways of picking up payments electronically:

Direct deposit

By providing the SSA with their bank details, beneficiaries can be paid by direct deposit. Recipients of retirement, disability and survivor benefits can update their bank-account information using the agency’s online “my Social Security” portal.