Social Security beneficiaries will receive their March payments according to the program’s standard distribution calendar, with checks and direct deposits scheduled throughout the month based on recipient birth dates.
Recipients who began collecting benefits before May 1997 follow a separate schedule and are typically paid on the third day of each month. In March, that payment date is March 3.
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments, which are generally distributed on the first business day of the month, were issued early for March. Because March 1 falls on a Sunday, SSI payments were sent on Friday, Feb. 27.
Social Security benefits are paid from dedicated trust funds financed primarily through payroll taxes, interest earned on trust fund balances, and taxes collected on benefits. While the agency’s baseline assumes scheduled payments will continue in full, current law does not permit the Social Security Administration to pay benefits beyond the available balances in a depleted trust fund.
In announcing the adjustment, Social Security Administration Commissioner Frank J. Bisignano said the annual increase is intended to help benefits keep pace with economic conditions.
"Social Security is a promise kept, and the annual cost-of-living adjustment is one way we are working to make sure benefits reflect today’s economic realities and continue to provide a foundation of security,” he said in a statement.
The SSA also said the maximum amount of earnings subject to Social Security payroll taxes increased to $184,500 for 2026, up from $176,100. Beneficiaries were notified of their new payment amounts beginning in December, either by mail or through their personal “my Social Security” online accounts.