Social Security Sends an Early November Check and Sets a Bigger Raise for 2027

The Social Security Administration will send one group of beneficiaries their November check a day early this month. People born between the 1st and the 10th of any month would normally be paid on the second Wednesday, which falls on November 11. Because that date is Veterans Day, a federal holiday, the payment moves up to Tuesday, November 10. The agency follows a long standing rule that moves any payment off a weekend or federal holiday to the business day before.

The rest of the month follows the usual schedule shown on the agency's payment calendar. People born between the 11th and the 20th are paid on November 18, and those born between the 21st and the end of the month are paid on November 25. People who started benefits before May 1997, and those who receive both Social Security and Supplemental Security Income, were paid on November 3.

Looking ahead, a bigger change arrives in January. The Social Security Administration set the 2027 cost of living adjustment at 3.6 percent, announced in October. That raise is larger than the 2.8 percent increase that took effect in early 2026, and it is the biggest in several years.

The agency estimates the average retired worker's monthly benefit will rise by about $75, moving from roughly $2,095 in 2026 to about $2,170 in 2027. The increase does not change your November 2026 payment. It takes effect with the December 2026 benefit, which is paid in January 2027.

The raise is applied automatically, so you do not need to call or file anything to get it. If you have a my Social Security account online, a personalized notice showing your new amount will appear in the account message center in late November. To see it there, the agency says you must both create your account and sign up for paperless notices by November 18. If you miss that date, you still get the raise, and a paper notice will arrive by mail in December.

A few other figures change for 2027 as well. The amount of yearly earnings subject to Social Security tax rises from $184,500 to $192,300. Spousal benefits also go up by the same 3.6 percent, though a spousal benefit still tops out at half of the worker's full amount.