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Why some Americans will receive an extra Social Security check in November

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Some Americans will receive two Social Security payments in November due to a quirk in the system that results in a second monthly payment on rare occasions.

Typically, the Social Security Administration (SSA) sends out one payment each week, delivering Social Security checks on the second, third and fourth Wednesdays of each month. Then it pays Supplemental Social Security Income (SSI) – which provides support for disabled people and older Americans with low incomes – on the first of the month unless it falls on a weekend or holiday.

Because Dec. 1 falls on a Sunday, SSI recipients will receive two payments in the month of November. The first check will arrive on Friday, Nov. 1, while the second check will come on Friday, Nov. 29.

Roughly 7.4 million Americans collect SSI benefits. The back-to-back deposits do not mean retirees are receiving extra money – it’s just an early payment for the following month.

SOCIAL SECURITY COST-OF-LIVING ADJUSTMENT WILL BE 2.5% IN 2024, LESS THAN PRIOR YEAR

Social security

Some Social Security recipients will get an extra check in November due to the calendar quirk. ((Photo illustration by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images) / Getty Images)

Social Security recipients recently learned the size of the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) they will receive for 2025, which will be smaller than this year’s.

The Social Security COLA for 2025 will be 2.5%, which is the smallest since 2021. That means Social Security retirement benefits will, on average, increase by roughly $50 per month starting in January, the SSA said earlier this month.

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Social Security Administration

The Social Security Administration’s schedule shows SSI payments will be disbursed on Nov. 1 and Nov. 29. (Photo by: Jeffrey Greenberg/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images / Getty Images)

“Social Security benefits and SSI payments will increase in 2025, helping tens of millions of people keep up with expenses even as inflation has started to cool,” said Social Security Commissioner Martin O’Malley.

Next year’s 2.5% COLA is less than the 3.2% adjustment that Social Security beneficiaries received in 2024, but would be roughly in line with the historical norm, as it’s averaged 2.6% over the last 20 years.

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Social Security benefits

Social Security recipients will receive a 2.5% COLA next year, raising average benefits by about $50 a month. (iStock / iStock)

Inflation has cooled over the past year, which reduced the size of the COLA as the pace of price growth slowed.

“This adjustment means older Americans will receive needed relief to help better afford essential items from groceries to gas,” AARP CEO Jo Ann Jenkins said in a statement. “Inflation took a financial toll this past year, particularly on retirees, who often rely on Social Security as a key source of income. Even with this adjustment, we know many older Americans who rely on Social Security may find it hard to pay their bills.”

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Beneficiaries saw an 8.7% increase in 2023, which was the largest since the early 1980s, due to surging inflation that had peaked at a 40-year high of 9.1% in June 2022.

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Stocks making the biggest moves midday: AAL, AVGO, JPM

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Biggest banks planning to sue the Federal Reserve over annual stress tests

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A general view of the Federal Reserve Building in Washington, United States.

Samuel Corum | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images

The biggest banks are planning to sue the Federal Reserve over the annual bank stress tests, according to a person familiar with the matter. A lawsuit is expected this week and could come as soon as Tuesday morning, the person said.

The Fed’s stress test is an annual ritual that forces banks to maintain adequate cushions for bad loans and dictates the size of share repurchases and dividends.

After the market close on Monday, the Federal Reserve announced in a statement that it is looking to make changes to the bank stress tests and will be seeking public comment on what it calls “significant changes to improve the transparency of its bank stress tests and to reduce the volatility of resulting capital buffer requirements.”

The Fed said it made the determination to change the tests because of “the evolving legal landscape,” pointing to changes in administrative laws in recent years. It didn’t outline any specific changes to the framework of the annual stress tests.

While the big banks will likely view the changes as a win, it may be too little too late.

Also, the changes may not go far enough to satisfy the banks’ concerns about onerous capital requirements. “These proposed changes are not designed to materially affect overall capital requirements, according to the Fed.

The CEO of BPI (Bank Policy Institute), Greg Baer, which represents big banks like JPMorgan, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs, welcomed the Fed announcement, saying in a statement “The Board’s announcement today is a first step towards transparency and accountability.”

However, Baer also hinted at further action: “We are reviewing it closely and considering additional options to ensure timely reforms that are both good law and good policy.”

Groups like the BPI and the American Bankers Association have raised concerns about the stress test process in the past, claiming that it is opaque, and has resulted in higher capital rules that hurt bank lending and economic growth.

In July, the groups accused the Fed of being in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act, because it didn’t seek public comment on its stress scenarios and kept supervisory models secret.

CNBC’s Hugh Son contributed to this report.

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