When will your Social Security February check arrive? See the schedule

Social Security benefits are on a normal schedule for February, so the first recipients should start seeing their payments Wednesday, Feb. 11.

Floridians who receive Supplemental Security Income checks already got their February payments early, on Jan. 30, and they’ll get their March checks on Friday, Feb. 27, according to the SSA calendar, so plan accordingly. SSI payments are typically issued on the first day of the month. When that day is a weekend or holiday, payments go out on the first business day before that

Social Security benefits, usually paid to recipients who are older or retired, are typically paid on Wednesdays based on birthdates. Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments are for those with limited income age 65 or older or with qualifying disabilities.

February will also be the second month that the checks will be a little bigger, thanks to a 2.8% cost-of-living (COLA) increase for 2026. For the 5 million Social Security recipients in Florida that works out to about $56, on average, per month, the Social Security Administration said.

Here’s what to know.

Who gets Social Security payments in February? Here’s the schedule

Regular Social Security retirement benefits for February will be sent out on the SSA’s usual schedule:

• Wednesday, Feb. 11: If your birth date is between the first and 10th of the month

• Wednesday, Feb. 18: If your birth date is between the 11th and 20th of the month

• Wednesday, Feb. 25: If your birth date is between the 21st and 31st of the month

What is the Social Security COLA for 2026?

The Social Security Administration announced Oct. 24 that Social Security benefits and SSI payments will increase 2.8 percent in 2026 in the annual Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) based on the annual Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W), which tracks spending habits.

The COLA has averaged about a 3.1% increase over the last decade. The COLA increase for 2025 was 2.5%, the smallest increase since 2021.

What is SSI?

Supplemental Security Income is a benefit payment for those with limited income or resources aged 65 or older, who are blind, or have a qualifying disability. Children with a qualifying disability can also get SSI, according to the SSA’s website.

Adults who earn more than $2,073 from work monthly typically do not qualify for SSI, up from $2,019 last year.

SSI payment schedule for February, early 2026

SSI payments are typically issued on the first business day of the month. But since March 1 is a Saturday, March payments will go out on Friday, Feb. 27.

Here’s a look at the payment schedule for the beginning of 2026

• Friday, Feb. 27, 2026 (Check for March 2026)

• Wednesday, April 1, 2026 (Check for April 2026)

• Friday, May 1, 2026 (Check for May 2026)

• Monday, June 1, 2026 (Check for June 2026)

• Wednesday, July 1, 2025 (Check for July 2026)

Social Security COLA 2026: Florida Social Security recipients may get hit hard with 2026 changes. Here’s what to know

How many people in Florida receive Social Security benefits?

Florida had more than 5 million people claiming Social Security benefits as of December 2023, according to the AARP. That included more than 3.9 million retirees, over 478,000 disabled workers, more than 401,000 spouses or survivors and nearly 240,000 children.

Nearly 1 in 5 Florida retirees, family members, veterans and others receive Social Security benefits, according to the AARP.

C. A. Bridges is a journalist for the USA TODAY Network-Florida’s service journalism Connect team. You can get all of Florida’s best content directly in your inbox each weekday day by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Social Security payments for February, when to expect yours