What Do I Do If I'm Missing a Social Security Payment?
In a nutshell: If you were expecting a Social Security payment that didn't come in when you expected it to, you are probably a little anxious to find out what happened, and to get the problem fixed as quickly as possible. There are a few different things that could have happened, but it should be pretty easy for you to figure out what's going on.
Introduction
If you were expecting a Social Security payment that didn't come in when you expected it to, you are probably a little anxious to find out what happened, and to get the problem fixed as quickly as possible. There are a few different things that could have happened, but it should be pretty easy for you to figure out what's going on.
What You'll Need
If you only recently started getting Social Security benefits, you may experience some delays in your first billing cycle, as you are put into the system.Sometimes, the Social Security offices are late getting payments processed because of staffing shortages or having to deal with a greater than usual number of issues for the month. There is nothing that they can do to fix these delays when they occur. However, if the problem comes from a delay on the processing end, the Social Security office will usually notify you, instead of making you come to them asking what happened.
Go to the Social Security benefit payment schedule page.
Social Security benefit payment schedule page
Click on the "Sign in" link underneath the "Sign in to your account" header to sign in to your Social Security account.
Look for the expected Social Security payment in the list of your scheduled payments.
It is possible that a government holiday, weekend, or a computer error has caused your benefit payment date to be delayed by a few days. If it has been, you will see the new date that you can expect the payment.
If an altered payment date was not the problem, continue with the next step.
Contact your bank and ask of there are any pending payments currently being processed, or if there has been some sort of processing delay or other problem.
Your online banking portal may be able to tell you this. If not, calling a teller directly should get you that information.
If there is not an issue with your bank, continue with the next step.
Wait until a total of three days have passed since the date you were supposed to receive your payment.
You cannot report a missing payment until three days have passed.
Call a Social Security customer service representative and report the missing payment.
Social Security customer service
If you would prefer to go to a Social Security office in person instead, take the next step instead of this one.
Go to the Social Security office locator.
Social Security office locator
Enter your ZIP code or your city and state in the text field under the "Find an office near you" header and press the "Search" button.
Find a conveniently located Social Security office and go there in person.
Tell a representative that you need help finding out what happened to your missing payment.
Conclusion
If you need to call Social Security customer service, you need to call between 7:00 am and 7:00 pm EST from Monday to Friday. The customer service office is not open on weekends.
Further questions?
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