Social Security update: Second of December double payments worth $914 to be sent out in two days

Millions of Supplemental Security Income recipients will receive their second December payment, worth up to $914 for individual filers, in two days.

The payment, which will be sent out on Friday, is an unusual second payment in a single month. Recipients always get two payments in December because Jan. 1 is always a holiday. There will be no SSI payment in January.

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SSI payments are given on top of regular Social Security benefits, providing monthly payments to adults and children with blindness or another disability and limited income. To qualify for SSI, a person has to be totally or partially blind or have a “physical or mental condition(s) that very seriously limits their daily activities for a period of 12 months or more or may be expected to result in death.”

The amount each filer receives differs depending on whether a recipient is an individual filer, joint filer, or essential person.

Individual filers receive $914 each month, eligible couples receive $1,371, and essential persons, who live with people receiving SSI payments and provide them with necessary care, get a monthly payment of $458, according to the Social Security Administration.

Twelve SSI payments are sent out per year, but due to the scheduling of holidays and weekends, some months feature two payments, while others have none.

Not every recipient will receive the maximum payment. Filers can see a personalized estimate through the Social Security Administration’s calculator. The monthly benefit is expected to rise by 3.2% next year.

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Created in 1974, the SSI program seeks to provide extra assistance to society’s most vulnerable members, including elderly, blind, and disabled people. The program was intended to provide an income floor, which state assistance programs would further supplement.

The program was historic in that it shifted responsibility for determining who received assistance from the states to the federal government, according to a 2011 annual report.