Social Security payment worth up to $4,873 paid today - check if you're eligible

Social Security checks, that can be worth up to $4,873, will be paid to certain recipients today. 

Around 68 million Americans receive some form of  Social Security benefit every month - but the payments are staggered due to the large number that need processing. 

The date of recipients' retirement or other benefit payments will depend on when their birthday is. 

Those born between the 21st and 31st of any given month will receive their check on the fourth Wednesday of the month, falling on September 25.

If you're born within the 1st and 10th of any month you should have received your monthly check on September 11.

Those born in the next category, between 11th and 20th, received their check on the third Wednesday of the month, September 18. 

The exception to this schedule is for those that have been claiming Social Security since 1997, or claim both retirement benefits and Supplemental Security Income (SSI).

This group received their payments in the first week of the month, on September 3.

The SSA recommends waiting three working days following a due date before contacting them about a late payment.

The highest retirement payments are as much as $4,873, though the figure is likely to be lower for the majority of recipients. 

In fact, the average monthly retirement check is $1,907, a figure that takes into account the 35 highest-earning years in a recipient's career and is adjusted for inflation.

'The maximum benefit depends on the age you retire. For example, if you retire at full retirement age in 2024, your maximum benefit would be $3,822,' the SSA states on its website. 

'However, if you retire at age 62 in 2024, your maximum benefit would be $2,710. 

'If you retire at age 70 in 2024, your maximum benefit would be $4,873,' the site explains. 

Those who only receive SSI benefits, not retirement, should have received their checks on August 30, as the usual 1st of the month payment day fell on a weekend.

The highest SSI payment that can be claimed for an individual is currently $943 and $1,415 for a couple. 

Total payouts, including for retirement, disability and survivor benefits, now cost the government around $1.5 trillion a year. 

Meanwhile, Americans living in nines states will collect less Social Security from this month due to a jump in taxes. 

Beneficiaries that live in Colorado, Connecticut, Minnesota, Montana, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont or West Virginia may have to pay more. 

The exact impact will depend on which state you live in and overall income.

It also emerged earlier this year that Social Security is expected to run short on funds by 2035. 

The program relies on its trust funds to provide monthly benefit checks to around 70 million Americans. 

But an aging population is pushing up the cost of the program as a smaller share of people are paying into it, and spending is outpacing income.

The latest annual report from the Social Security Board of Trustees found that the program will only be able to pay out full benefits for the next 11 years - which is one year later than previous estimates.