Good news for retirees in the United States who celebrate their birthdays early in the month! If you were born between the 1st and 10th and began receiving Social Security benefits after May 1997, mark your calendar for May 14. That's when your next Social Security payment will arrive, and it'll have a little extra thanks to an annual increase.
This isn't a surprise bonus—it's part of the yearly cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) that kicked off in January 2025. This adjustment is about making sure your money keeps up with rising prices, so everything you buy doesn't start costing more than your income can handle.
For this year, that boost is 2.5% added to your check, and it's been included automatically since January, so no need to do anything extra.
Who Qualifies for May 14th Social Security Benefits?
Let's double-check to make sure you're set for the May 14 payment:
- You started getting Social Security checks after May 1997.
- Your birthday falls between the 1st and the 10th of the month.
If that's you, you're all set!
If you meet just one of these conditions, your payment schedule might be a bit different. Social Security uses both your birth date and the start date of your benefits to organize when you get your money, helping to avoid any system overloads.
What's This Year's Maximum Social Security Benefit?
Not everyone gets the same amount. How much you get each month can depend on how long you've worked, how much you made, and when you decided to start your benefits.
For those at the top end in 2025, the max is $5,108 a month—but that's for folks who waited until they were 70 to retire, worked for at least 35 years, and earned a pretty high wage.
If you retired at 67, the most you could get is $4,873 a month. And if you started your retirement benefits at 62, your check will be less than if you'd waited.
Remember, these amounts include the COLA boost, which will stay the same until next year.
So, if you're in the group celebrating your birthday at the beginning of the month and you've been receiving your benefits for a while, look forward to a slightly bigger deposit this May.
It's nice to have a little extra, especially knowing it's part of a plan to help your dollars stretch further as costs go up around us.
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