There will be several significant changes for Social Security Administration (SSA) beneficiaries in May. This year has seen a number of major changes at the SSA, some of which are anticipated and annual, and others of which are far more innovative.
Additionally, some beneficiaries will get duplicate payments next month because of scheduling problems involving Supplementary Security Income. As 2025 approaches its halfway point, it is still unclear what the SSA’s future holds.
Significant changes inside the SSA
SSA’s personnel was recently reduced from 57,000 to 50,000 by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Current staff now have 12-hour shifts and exaggerated wait times as a result of this, forcing them to put in extra hours.
Some are more worried about the consequences, while others have applauded the cuts and see them as a long-term reform.
“For too long, SSA has operated on autopilot,” In a press release on March 3, Acting SSA Commissioner Lee Dudek defended the changes. “It is time to change just that.”
Others, however, have pointed out that the SSA will inevitably have delays in disbursing payments to recipients due to the drastic cuts, which only save 0.06% of the federal budget.
“I truly believe there’s going to be some interruption of benefits for some period of time, and I believe that will probably happen in the very near future,” Former SSA Commissioner Marin O’Malley stated, according to Long Island Press.
Because of these internal SSA changes, there may be ongoing delays at SSA offices next month. If you need to interact with the SSA directly, you may have to wait longer.
On the other hand, it can also indicate that there is a chance that payments will be delayed, which has never happened in the SSA’s 80 years of existence.
Beneficiaries’ updated COLA
The COLA rise has resulted in higher payouts for beneficiaries over the last four months compared to the previous year, even though the new cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) index went into effect in January.
According to Social Security’s official 2025 COLA data, the COLA increase for this year was 2.5 percent. One of the lowest COLA adjustments since before COVID-19 was this one.
This year, the COLA notice was revised and updated for the first time for Social Security recipients, making it easier for customers to find the information they need most.
The streamlined COLA notice is now only one page long, written in plain, customized language, and includes exact dates, dollar amounts, and the individual’s new benefit amount and any deductions.
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SSI beneficiaries will receive two rounds of payments next month
For some SSA beneficiaries, the Social Security Administration (SSA) will be issuing two rounds of payments this month.
When it comes to payment releases, the SSA administration often adheres to a strict timeline so that recipients may plan their monthly spending and not worry about when the money would arrive in their bank accounts.
These fixed dates do, however, occasionally slightly diverge, resulting in two payments for beneficiaries in a single month.
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It is important to remind beneficiaries that this additional May payment is not a “bonus” payment; rather, it is their June payment, which is disbursed on May 30 because June 1st falls on a Sunday.
If the regular payment date falls on a weekend or a public holiday, SSA payments are always made later. If you don’t receive your June SSI payment, it’s because the additional May payment is being used to cover your June payment, not because you neglected to make it.
