First wave of Social Security checks hits accounts this week — find out who will see as much as $5,181

Millions of retirees are set to cash in.

The first wave of Social Security checks will hit accounts — or be distributed for those who still love a paper check — on July 8. Typically, payments are issued on Wednesdays and roll out three times a month based on your birthday.

This means recipients born from the first to the 10th of the month will get their monthly benefits on Wednesday, July 8, according to the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) payment calendar.

Those born from the 11th to the 20th are paid on the third Wednesday, and beneficiaries born after the 20th are paid on the fourth Wednesday. Those who received Social Security before May 1997 or are claiming Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI), will see checks on the third day of the month and their SSI payment on the first day of the month.

There’s no maximum amount that covers everyone receiving retirement benefits. Check amounts vary based on a few factors like your earnings history, the age you retire, and the year you retire. But you can estimate.

According to the SSA, the following applies to those who earned the taxable maximum in each year beginning at age 22 and start receiving benefits in 2026.

If you retire at full retirement age in 2026 — which is between 66 and 67 and depends on birth year —  your benefit would be $4,152.

If you retire at age 62, the earliest you can claim in 2026, your benefit would be $2,969.

For those who delay their retirement to age 70 in 2026, which guarantees the maximum possible monthly payout, your benefit would be $5,181.

Just note that your benefit may be lower if you earned less than the taxable maximum.

Check please

The right time to claim your benefits depends on the person and a few factors.

Those who withdraw early will have their benefits reduced by up to 30%, but it could be necessary. Early retirement may be caused by health challenges, unexpected job loss, or job market conditions.

For others, it waiting until full retirement age may be a better financial move as benefit amounts increase substantially. Those who delay until age 70 are able to claim the maximum benefit allowed.

Lastly, break-even age may be the best time to claim your cash for others. Break-even age is when seniors start benefiting from having waited to claim Social Security.

A helpful tool to determine the right age for retirement is the Social Security break-even calculator. This gives folks secure access based on earnings history and interactive tools that are specifically tailored to them.

According to the Social Security website, the way it works is simple.

• Choosing a future age to begin receiving retirement benefits in years and months or use the “age” scroll bar
• Choosing a future date to begin receiving retirement benefits
• Enter the average annual income you expect to earn until retirement

Just remember that the calculations are speculative and do not take into account life expectancy, cost-of-living adjustments, inflation or other taxes that may be applied to your benefits.