I previously suspended Social Security retirement benefits to accrue delayed retirement credits. I turned 70 in January 2022. I expected my benefits to resume on my normal payment date, the third Wednesday of February, the 16th. Instead, the first payment was deposited into my checking account on February 1.

During the years of suspended benefits, I qualified for and received SNAP benefits. As expected, I received 30-day notice of SNAP termination after Social Security benefits restarted. I lost a month of SNAP benefits, worth $345, due to the early Social Security payment.

I called SNAP to find out what is going on, and was told to call Social Security. I have not had success in finding anyone at Social Security who can explain this.

I suspect that Social Security made the payment on the first of the month specifically to allow SNAP benefits to terminate early, and that this coordination with SNAP is built into their software systems to allow the federal government, responsible for both programs, to save money.

Do you have any information about this? Is this early payment by Social Security allowed by their rules, or it is a violation of their rules? Is there anything I can do to get the lost SNAP benefits?

Thank you.

Hi. My expertise is limited to Social Security benefits, not SNAP benefits. Therefore, I don't know if there's any way for you to recover your lost SNAP benefits.

What I can tell you is that there is no Social Security provision that would cause a person to be paid early just because they're receiving SNAP benefits. I have no idea why you would have been paid on February 1st, though, since that's not a normal payment date for Social Security benefits. Regular monthly Social Security benefits are paid either on the 3rd day of the month, or the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th Wednesday of the month depending on the worker's birthday.

Since 1997, the only people who are paid their Social Security benefits on the 3rd day of the month are the following:
a) People who first filed for benefits before May 1997; or,
b) People who are receiving both Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security payments; or,
c) People who live in a foreign country; or,
d) People whose Medicare premiums are paid by the state where they live.

If you don't meet one of the above exceptions, then your benefits should be paid on either the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th Wednesday of the month depending on your birthday (https://faq.ssa.gov/en-us/Topic/article/KA-01957). Even if you meet an exception that would cause you to be paid on the 3rd of the month, that wouldn't explain why you were paid on February 1st. People who are paid on the 3rd day of the month are sometimes paid on the 1st of the month if the 3rd falls on a weekend or holiday, but the 3rd of February didn't fall on a weekend or a holiday. You might want to try calling Social Security to see if they have an explanation.

Best, Jerry