As March 2025 draws to a close, the Social Security Administration (SSA) is preparing to issue its final round of payments for the month. Retirees, survivors, and disability beneficiaries who have not yet received their March Social Security payments should expect their funds this week.

For some eligible recipients, the payment could be as high as $5,108, depending on factors such as retirement age and lifetime earnings. With the rising cost of living, these payments remain a crucial financial lifeline for millions of Americans.

Here’s what beneficiaries need to know about who is getting paid this week, how Social Security payments are structured, and what changes are coming next for recipients.

Who Will Receive a Social Security Payment in the Final Week of March?

Social Security benefits are distributed on a staggered payment schedule based on the recipient’s birth date and when they first started receiving benefits.

The final Social Security payment for March will be sent on Wednesday, March 26.

This last batch of payments for the month is for retirees, survivors, and disability beneficiaries who:

• Began receiving benefits after May 1997
• Have a birth date between the 21st and 31st of any month

If your birthday falls within this range, and you qualify for Social Security retirement, survivor, or disability benefits, expect your March payment to be deposited on March 26.

Beneficiaries who receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or who started receiving Social Security before May 1997 have already received their payments earlier in the month.

How Much Will Beneficiaries Receive?

The amount you receive in Social Security benefits depends on several factors, including:

• Your earnings history
• The age you started claiming benefits
• Annual Cost-of-Living Adjustments (COLA)

For 2025, the maximum possible Social Security payment based on the highest earnings and delayed retirement age is:

• $5,108 per month for those who retire at age 70
• $4,018 per month for those who retire at full retirement age (67)
• $2,831 per month for those who retire at 62

For the average retiree, however, the typical Social Security payment is much lower. In January 2025, the SSA reported that the average retirement benefit was $1,976 per month.

Additionally, disability benefits (SSDI) and survivor benefits vary based on individual earnings records and eligibility.

What to Do If You Haven’t Received Your Payment?

If you expect to receive a Social Security payment but have not yet seen it in your account, here’s what you should do:

• Wait at least three business days – Payments sometimes take additional time to process, especially with bank holidays or delays in processing direct deposits.
• Check your payment status online – Log into your mySocialSecurity account at SSA.gov/myaccount to confirm your payment details.
• Contact your bank – If you receive payments via direct deposit, check with your bank to ensure there are no issues with account verification or transfers.
• Call the SSA if needed – If your payment has not arrived after three business days, contact SSA customer service at 1-800-772-1213 to report the issue.

What’s Coming Next Month for Social Security Recipients?

With April 2025 on the horizon, Social Security recipients should be aware of several important developments that may impact future payments.

1. Social Security Payments Are Increasing in April

Beneficiaries will see higher payments starting in April, thanks to the Social Security Fairness Act (SSFA), which repealed the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO).

Over 3.2 million retirees, including teachers, firefighters, and public sector workers, will see an increase in their Social Security payments.

The SSA has already issued over $7.5 billion in retroactive payments, and monthly benefit adjustments will begin in April.

Apple Inc. is undergoing a rare shake-up of its executive ranks, aiming to get its artificial intelligence efforts back on track after months of delays and stumbles, according to people familiar with the situation. Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook has lost confidence in the ability of AI head John Giannandrea to execute on product development, so he’s moving over another top executive to help: Vision Pro creator Mike Rockwell. In a new role, Rockwell will be in charge of the Siri virtual assistant, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the moves haven’t been announced. Rockwell will report to software chief Craig Federighi, removing Siri completely from Giannandrea’s command. Apple announced the changes to employees on Thursday following Bloomberg News’ initial report. The iPhone maker’s senior leaders — a group known as the Top 100 — just met at a secretive, annual offsite gathering to discuss the future of the company. Its AI efforts were a key talking point at the summit, Bloomberg has reported. The moves underscore the plight facing Apple: Its AI technology is severely lagging industry rivals, and the company has shown little sign of catching up. The Apple Intelligence platform was late to arrive and largely a flop, despite being the main selling point for the iPhone 16. Rockwell is currently the vice president in charge of the Vision Products Group, or VPG, the division that developed Apple’s headset. As part of the changes, he’ll be leaving that team, though the Vision Pro software groups will follow him to Federighi’s software engineering group. The hardware team will remain under John Ternus and report to Paul Meade, a hardware engineering executive who worked on the Vision Pro. A spokeswoman for Cupertino, California-based Apple declined to comment on the moves. The need to rescue Siri is especially urgent. The company has struggled to release new features that were announced last June, including the ability to tap into a user’s data to fulfill queries. Despite the technology not being ready, Apple advertised the enhancements for months on TV in order to sell the iPhone 16. Following development snags, the company further delayed the features earlier this month. The Apple manager who has led Siri until now told his team in a recent meeting that the delays were “ugly” and that staffers may be angry and embarrassed. The executive, Robby Walker, also said he was unsure when the features would actually arrive due to competing development priorities. Apple has publicly stated that the features will be ready sometime in the “coming year.” Apple shares have declined 15% this year, part of a broader retreat for tech stocks. They fell less than 1% to $214.10 on Thursday in New York. By tapping Rockwell, Apple is betting on an executive with proven technical experience. He has demonstrated the ability to ship new products and run an engineering organization with thousands of people. Rockwell has a knack for solving problems and often takes the role of evangelist for futuristic technologies. Rockwell is known as the brains behind the Vision Pro, which is considered a technical marvel but not a commercial hit. Getting the headset to market required a number of technical breakthroughs, some of which leveraged forms of artificial intelligence. He is now moving away from the Vision Pro at a time when that unit is struggling to plot a future for the product. Over the last decade, Rockwell has been one of the few Apple executives to take a major hardware device from “zero to one” — industry parlance for conceiving a new product and bringing it to market. He joined Apple’s hardware engineering group in 2015, and the company released the Vision Pro in February of last year. Giannandrea has a different background. A former Google star, he was hired in 2018 to run Apple’s AI work. Giannandrea had been one of Alphabet Inc.’s most senior executives, overseeing the search and AI divisions. Rockwell, in contrast, doesn’t have prior experience as an AI leader or clout within the burgeoning machine-learning community. Apple has set the stage for the change by increasingly referring internally to the Vision Pro and VPG initiatives as “AI products.” Rockwell’s experience with hardware also could help the company more deeply embed AI into its future devices. Already, the company is exploring the idea of AirPods with outward-facing cameras that could feed data to AI. Siri — the AI division’s main consumer product — has had a number of bosses over the years. When Apple first launched the voice assistant in 2011, it was overseen by software executive Scott Forstall. It was then given to services chief Eddy Cue in 2012 and transferred to the current software head, Federighi, in 2017. Giannandrea took it over a year later. Now it will be led by Rockwell, with oversight returning again to Federighi. Giannandrea will remain at the company, even with Rockwell taking over Siri. An abrupt departure would signal publicly that the AI efforts have been tumultuous — something Apple is reluctant to acknowledge. Giannandrea’s other responsibilities include oversight of research, testing and technologies related to AI. The company also has a team reporting to Giannandrea investigating robotics. Federighi, Rockwell’s new manager, is the company’s senior vice president of software engineering. He oversees development of Apple’s iOS, iPadOS and macOS operating systems, as well as development tools. Along with Giannandrea, he was a key figure in the development of Apple Intelligence. Right now, he’s also orchestrating an extensive revamp of the company’s core software. Siri had been plagued by engineering and quality problems long before Giannandrea arrived on the scene. Though he struggled to turn around that technology, he’s made headway in other areas. That includes luring top AI researchers to Apple, which hadn’t been known for such work in the past. He also unified the company’s AI work under one roof, pulling in related technologies from across Apple into a single division. The AI management shift has been months in the making and predates Apple announcing the Siri delays. Last year, the company tapped Rockwell deputy Kim Vorrath to help advise the Siri team. She’s known for bringing order and execution to troubled development programs. In January, she was officially moved over to the AI group as a top lieutenant to Giannandrea to oversee AI program management. She is now moving to Federighi’s division. In the past several days, Apple started moving over another senior manager from Rockwell’s team — Aimee Nugent — to the Siri group. Like Vorrath, she has a reputation for fixing challenging projects. The changes allowed two of Rockwell’s trusted executives to evaluate the organization before he became heavily involved. Inside Apple, Rockwell hasn’t been shy about criticizing Siri, according to people familiar with the matter. For years, he has pitched senior vice presidents on ideas for overhauling the voice assistant to make it more personalized. He has also been advising the AI group in recent weeks. Even before the management changes, Giannandrea long considered Rockwell a potential successor. When developing the Vision Pro, Rockwell believed that Siri could be a central way to control the $3,499 device. Now, it’s only a limited element, with the company primarily focusing on hand-and-eye control. Rockwell has had more experience with the AI team in recent months as the company worked to bring Apple Intelligence to the Vision Pro. The features are launching on the headset in April as part of a visionOS software upgrade.

TOKYO — Japan’s seven major automakers look set to enter a prolonged phase of profit decline as intensifying U.S. competition and soaring expenses weigh on their earnings.

The automakers — Toyota Motor, Honda Motor, Nissan Motor, Subaru, Mazda Motor, Mitsubishi Motors and Suzuki Motor — saw combined profits decline for the October-December quarter. Their profits are forecast to fall again in the current quarter ending in March and the following quarter ending in June.

Combined operating profit totaled 1.99 trillion yen ($13.3 billion) for the October-December period, sliding 25% on the year for a second consecutive quarter of decline.

Five of the seven automakers reported a decrease. Toyota’s profit fell 28% to 1.21 trillion yen, while Nissan plunged 78% to 31.1 billion yen and Mitsubishi sank 75% to 13.8 billion yen. Honda rose 5% to 397.3 billion yen thanks to strong motorcycle sales, while Suzuki climbed 9% to 144.7 billion yen on strong domestic sales.

Combined consolidated sales for the seven automakers rose 3% on the year in October-December to reach 25 trillion yen, buoyed by the weak yen. Global unit sales fell 2% to 6.36 million. But excluding Honda and Nissan’s China sales — which are in a continued slump — would result in a slight increase.

Profits are declining in part because profitability is being sapped by intensifying competition in the U.S. A large increase in sales incentives paid to dealers is squeezing automaker profits.

The industry average for incentives in the U.S. was almost $4,000 per vehicle at the end of 2024, soaring 50% in a year, Cox Automotive reports. Subaru, which has relatively low incentives, saw these double to just over $2,500.

“As the Chinese and European markets are not doing so well, Japanese, U.S. and European automakers are all focusing on North America,” Katsuyuki Mizuma, a Subaru board director, said at a February earnings conference.

Even Toyota, which has the lowest U.S. incentives in the industry, raised them to nearly $2,000, more than double from a year ago.

Honda’s incentives climbed 130% to almost $3,500. Its electric vehicles, which rolled out in earnest last year, helped push up the figure. EV incentives remain about double the industry average.

Nissan’s overall incentives were almost $4,500, a 60% increase from 2023.

Expenses also are rising, particularly development and labor costs for electrified vehicles. Toyota’s investment in growth areas like EVs and software depressed profit by 70 billion yen in October-December, while rising labor costs — including at suppliers — pushed down profit by 130 billion yen.

Research and development costs squeezed profit by 17.5 billion yen for Honda and by 7.5 billion yen for Mazda.

Earnings trends among the seven automakers over the past few years show that year-on-year quarterly operating profit increases or decreases tend to continue for extended periods.

Collectively, a year-on-year increase flipped to a decrease the next quarter only five times in the past 10 years. In the quarter following each of those initial shifts to a decline, profits continued to decrease or even dipped into loss territory four of the five times, including October-December 2024.

Conversely, of the four times when profits turned from a year-on-year decrease to an increase, they continued to rise or went into the black in the next quarter three of those times.

These profit cycles tend to be relatively long for various reasons. In the past, the main cause was that supply and demand trends driven by exchange rates or the coronavirus pandemic continued for some time.

Today, the prolonged trends of rising incentives and expenses are a major factor.

“One of the reasons is that the model renewal cycle for automobiles is longer than for other products,” said Seiji Sugiura of Tokai Tokyo Intelligence Laboratory.

Bringing a new model to market generally takes three to five years from development to launch. And if sales of the new model are poor, cutting production can take several months due to employment and equipment considerations, Sugiura said. Nissan’s earnings have worsened due to poor sales of its main models in North America.

Combined operating profit for the Japanese automakers are expected to fall 12% for January-March based on their own forecasts. The QUICK Consensus market forecast shows a 2% decline. The market also expects a 9% decline in April-June.

Tariffs proposed by U.S. President Donald Trump could deepen these struggles. Boston Consulting Group estimated that, if levies of 25% are imposed on imports from Canada and Mexico, 60% on China and 20% on other countries, Japan would incur a tariff burden of $11 billion on automobiles and parts alone. Mexico’s burden in the sector would reach $45.1 billion.

Among Japanese automakers, Nissan and Mazda are expected to be particularly affected. Nissan rely on Mexican exports for about 35% of its U.S. sales and nearly 30% for Mazda. Both companies also export from Japan to the U.S.

The news of the elimination of the Social Security Fairness Act (SSFA) of concepts such as the Windfall Elimination Provision, known as WEP, and the Government Pension Offset, better known as GPO, was well received by a large number of people who saw their Social Security benefits reduced.

The Social Security Administration announced that there would be adjustments in the monthly payments for 3.2 million people affected by these concepts, who worked in something that did not reach Social Security coverage and therefore had not paid taxes for this concept.

Who qualifies for retroactive benefits?

The SSA also announced that there would be immediate retroactive benefits to all those affected by the WEP and GPO, including teachers, firefighters, police officers and other public service jobs covered by the Civil Service Retirement System; some 28% of state and local government employees.

It is important to note that the new rule does not pay benefits to those who have never paid Social Security taxes, but for those who have, their back payments begin in March and will likely continue through April.

Keep an eye on your email

The SSA will inform you of any changes in your situation and eligibility by means of your physical mail, with a letter in which you will be able to clearly see the adjustments or payments and the dates on which you will receive them, and which will be reflected in your Social Security registered bank account.

The Social Security Administration emphasizes that April is the ideal month to ask any questions about retroactive benefits, as with the large number of payments to be made and the processing of them, there may be certain delays, which will undoubtedly be released as quickly as possible.

Social Security is generally the largest source of income in retirement, but many seniors think benefits have fallen behind inflation. The Motley Fool last year surveyed 2,000 retired workers, and the majority said the cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) in 2024 and 2025 failed to keep up with rising prices.

Unfortunately, beneficiaries will likely receive an even smaller raise next year. The Senior Citizens League, a nonpartisan advocacy group, recently revised its 2026 COLA forecast down to 2.2%. Retired workers have not received a smaller pay increase since 2021. But there may be worse news in store for beneficiaries.

Here are the important details.

How Social Security’s cost-of-living adjustments are calculated

Retired workers on Social Security get annual cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) designed to ensure benefit payments increase in lockstep with inflation. Those COLAs are based on a subset of the Consumer Price Index known as the CPI-W, which measures price changes based on the spending patterns of hourly workers.

The math is simple: The third-quarter CPI-W from the current year (July through September) is divided by the third-quarter CPI-W from the prior year, and the percent increase becomes the COLA in the following year. For example, the CPI-W increased 2.5% in the third quarter of 2024, so Social Security benefits received a 2.5% COLA in 2025.

Why the latest COLA forecast is bad news for retirees on Social Security

CPI-W inflation measured 2.7% in February, down from 3% in January. That led The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) to lower its 2026 COLA forecast from 2.3% to 2.2%. But that alone is not a problem because COLAs simply compensate beneficiaries for rising prices. Put differently, the size of the COLA is irrelevant so long as it matches inflation.

The issue lies in the fact that Social Security’s COLAs are based on CPI-W inflation. As mentioned, the CPI-W measures price changes based on the spending habits of hourly employees. But working adults are typically younger than retirees on Social Security, and young people spend money differently than seniors.

How Social Security’s cost-of-living adjustments are calculated

Retired workers on Social Security get annual cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) designed to ensure benefit payments increase in lockstep with inflation. Those COLAs are based on a subset of the Consumer Price Index known as the CPI-W, which measures price changes based on the spending patterns of hourly workers.

The math is simple: The third-quarter CPI-W from the current year (July through September) is divided by the third-quarter CPI-W from the prior year, and the percent increase becomes the COLA in the following year. For example, the CPI-W increased 2.5% in the third quarter of 2024, so Social Security benefits received a 2.5% COLA in 2025.

Why the latest COLA forecast is bad news for retirees on Social Security

CPI-W inflation measured 2.7% in February, down from 3% in January. That led The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) to lower its 2026 COLA forecast from 2.3% to 2.2%. But that alone is not a problem because COLAs simply compensate beneficiaries for rising prices. Put differently, the size of the COLA is irrelevant so long as it matches inflation.

The issue lies in the fact that Social Security’s COLAs are based on CPI-W inflation. As mentioned, the CPI-W measures price changes based on the spending habits of hourly employees. But working adults are typically younger than retirees on Social Security, and young people spend money differently than seniors.

Alphabet (GOOGL.O), opens new tab will buy fast-growing startup Wiz for about $32 billion in its biggest deal ever, the Google parent said Tuesday, as it doubles down on cybersecurity to sharpen its edge in the cloud-computing race against Amazon.com and Microsoft.

The blockbuster deal will make Wiz part of Google’s cloud unit and strengthen the company’s efforts in cybersecurity solutions that companies use to remove critical risks.

REGULATORY CONCERNS

Beneficiaries of the US Social Security system are in luck. It has already been confirmed that the Administration will issue a payment of up to $2,000 to certain individuals, scheduled for March 19th, including retirees and individuals who are part of the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI).

In this sense, the American Social Security has confirmed that payments are issued according to the beneficiaries’ dates of birth. Therefore, it follows that those who were born between the 1st and the 10th of any month receive the money on the second Wednesday of the month; those who were born between the 11th and the 20th get it on the third; and those from the 21st to the 31st get it on the last day of the month. On the other hand, workers who retired before May 1997 and beneficiaries of the SSI do not follow this payment schedule, as the Administration sends them the money in the first days of the month.

People who will receive $2,000 from Social Security

According to information provided by the United States Public Administration, on March 19th thousands of Social Security beneficiaries will receive a significant amount of money in their bank accounts. Thus, people who are registered with this institution and who have met the established requirements may be recipients of this amount.

Thus, as reported by Social Security and according to the distribution calendar and the SSA estimates table, this Wednesday, March 19, retirees born between the 11th and the 20th of the month will receive an average payment of $2,000. This leaves only one payment left for the third month of the year, which will be made to people born between the 21st and the 31st and will be issued on March 26th.

Therefore, according to Social Security, the month of March will end with good news for Social Security beneficiaries, especially for retirees who are registered as pensioners in the United States Public Administration.

Average payment for Social Security retirees

The amount of the payments varies according to the history and case of each beneficiary. However, the SSA has estimates and simulators that allow people, whether single or families, to better plan for their retirement. In this way, based on the years worked and the age of retirement, it is possible to make an initial estimate of the amount that each worker will receive.

However, according to official information, the average payment for a worker who retires in 2025 is $1,976 per month and up to $3,089 for couples. However, the exact amount depends on several factors, such as the number of years of contributions to the system and the retirement age, among others. Otherwise, beneficiaries of the US Social Security have average payments of $967 if they are individuals and $1,450 if they are couples who declare jointly, as reported by the Administration.

Google-parent Alphabet is in advanced negotiations to buy Israeli cybersecurity company Wiz with an offer of more than $30 billion, according to a source familiar with the matter, marking its largest potential acquisition to date.

Alphabet’s latest offer is higher by roughly a third of the $23 billion deal it offered last year, which Wiz called off in July 2024 over concerns it would not clear antitrust hurdles.

Wiz had said in an internal memo at the time that it would focus on an initial public offering. Neither company has publicly acknowledged a deal. They did not immediately reply on Monday to Reuters requests for comment.

The deal hasn’t been signed and could still change, the person familiar with the development said. The Wall Street Journal on Monday first reported the news of the talks between the companies, citing sources.

If the Wiz acquisition goes ahead, it would help Alphabet tap the cybersecurity market and expand its booming cloud infrastructure business, which generated more than $43 billion in revenue last year.

While U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration is widely expected to drop some antitrust policies pursued under the administration of President Joe Biden, a deal that creates a cybersecurity behemoth is still likely to draw scrutiny.

Wall Street had expected a bump in dealmaking after Trump’s election, but the tariffs he has imposed or threatened have roiled global markets and left businesses and investors uncertain about big decisions.

Wiz provides cloud-based cybersecurity solutions powered by artificial intelligence that help companies identify and remove critical risks on cloud platforms.

It works with multiple cloud providers such as Microsoft and Amazon and counts companies from Morgan Stanley to DocuSign among its customers. With 900 employees across the United States, Europe, Asia and Israel, Wiz previously said it planned to add 400 workers globally in 2024.

Interest in the cybersecurity industry has surged since the global CrowdStrike outage last year, making enterprises more concerned about protecting their digital infrastructures.

Wiz was last valued at $12 billion in a private funding round in May 2024.

The erratic strategies adopted by US President Donald Trump are astonishing and irritating Washington’s allies, causing fear among American consumers, denting investor confidence, fomenting uncertainty and hurting the established world financial architecture.

The US administration under Trump has ratcheted up tariffs and brought about turmoil in stock markets, leading to corporate bankruptcies.

US consumers may soon grumble about prices of household goods as the domestic economy may fall prey to the looming inflation and recession fears. Separately, astute business leaders are clamouring against the unpredictable policies of Trump while officials and staff at public and private organisations face increased uncertainty and the risk of losing jobs.

According to The Economist, the S&P 500 index fell by another 4% in the week to March 12, leaving the world’s most watched stock market down by 9% since its recent peak. The Nasdaq index, dominated by tech firms, has fallen by 12%. It is not quite the bold new era of American growth promised by Trump in his election campaign. The president’s unpredictable trade policies have got things going.

On March 12, in the latest twist in Trump’s trade saga, he levied 25% tariffs on imports of aluminium and steel. After years of growth, the health of the US economy is a source of concern, too, with worries triggered by a steady drip of discouraging data.

Statistics showed that consumer prices rose more slowly in February than analysts had expected. But the relief for shoppers also hints that America’s economy is shifting into a lower gear. Such news is beginning to undermine the idea of American exceptionalism; after all, investors have seen much better returns in China and Europe this year.

CNN reported that US corporate bankruptcies totaled 129 through the first two months of 2025, the highest total for this period in a year since 2010 in the aftermath of the Great Recession, according to the S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Just 20 days ago, the US stock market was sitting at all-time highs. The American economy appeared to be growing at a solid pace. And a recession was nowhere in sight. Now, the R-word is seemingly everywhere. Recession fears are rocking the stock market. GDP forecasts are getting slashed. Trump and his economic team are facing questions about a possible recession – and failing to address mounting jitters about the economy.

When it comes to Trump’s tariffs on Canada, Canadian premier Mark Carney warned that a predatory America wants “our water, our land, our country”.

Eminent regional expert and Centre for South Asia and International Studies Islamabad Executive Director Dr Mehmoodul Hassan Khan said it seems that “Trumpcession” is gaining momentum further, consolidating speculations of an imminent recession in the US that are rattling its stock markets and the economy alike.

On top of that, Trump’s brinkmanship and stop-start approach while imposing tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China have continued to hit common consumers and markets (crude oil and gold), pushing them into turmoil.

Surprisingly, right from the beginning, Trump was putting his political whims and wishes ahead of the strength of the economy and the stock market, raising the spectre of a US recession, which had increased from 15% to 20%.

Moreover, political inclusiveness, policy confusion and mixed messaging are creating a huge budget deficit. It should be a wake-up call to the US government because the first five months of fiscal year 2025 hit a record deficit of $1.147 trillion, including $307 billion in February 2025, highlighting the threat of a government shutdown.

Trump’s promise of ushering in a new era of prosperity for the Americans is still a far cry. Economic follies have increased economic pains. If the US government remains committed to its inconsistent economic and trade policies, even in the face of much worse data, recession risk would rise further.

Businessmen and investors are worried about big cuts to the government workforce and spending. A drastic decrease in retail sales vividly reflects high inflation and low consumer confidence. Thus, a drop in the stock market could trigger a further clampdown on spending, especially among higher-income households.

Trump’s warning of a little disturbance before bringing back wealth to America is clearly demonstrating doomsday ahead of prosperity and stability, increasing chances of recession-cum-adjustments, corrections and preferences, although the risk of recession is real like wolves knocking at the door.

Statistical data of many international organisations clearly indicates the US policy tilting away from growth and snaking of its 500 biggest companies, flashing a serious risk of recession.

When it comes to discomfort being faced by Americans, Khan said, “Ironically, by attracting his voters Trump never said that there might be a recession on the road to his so-called new golden age. The Black Monday should not be dubbed as a momentary blip, but an economic blast moving away from the promised prosperity to deepening chaos and uncertainty.

“Setting off trade wars with US neighbours, indiscriminately firing thousands of government workers, pursuing a global exit policy [USAID, WHO, WTO, climate change agreement] and punishing the weaker nations are fracturing an 80-year bond of trust with allies directly hurting its economy, industries, segments of society and supply chains.”

Now, the US consumer confidence is softening, hiring is slowing and fears of a recession are growing – the last thing the economy needs is a president whipping up uncertainty.

The US economic contraction may be averted by constructive competition and cooperation with all trading partners including China instead of blindly following so-called instinct spirits achieving nothing, but massive volatility.

Some of the 50 million-plus retirees relying on Social Security benefits are about to see their next check hit their bank accounts on Wednesday, March 19. The Social Security Administration (SSA) will also be sending out payments to those receiving disability benefits and survivor benefits—so plenty of folks are watching their mailboxes and bank balances closely.

When are Social Security checks going out in March 2025?

Each month, Social Security follows a three-Wednesday payment schedule, meaning that most of the 73 million recipients get their money based on their birth date rather than all at once.

For March, this staggered system rolled out like this:

• March 12: Payments went to beneficiaries born between the 1st and 10th of the month.
• March 19: Up next are those born between the 11th and 20th—their deposits will arrive on this day.
• March 26: The final group—those with birthdays from the 21st to the 31st—will receive their payments.

If your birthday falls in the middle of the month, you’re next in line for a March 19 deposit—because Social Security likes to celebrate birthdays with direct deposits, not balloons.

Who doesn’t follow the Three-Wednesday payment schedule?

Not everyone gets their Social Security check based on their birthday. In fact, there are a few exceptions to the three-Wednesday rule:

If you started receiving retirement, disability, or survivor benefits before May 1997, this schedule doesn’t apply to you. Instead, your payments land on the third of each month, no matter when your birthday is. The only exception? If the third falls on a weekend or holiday, in which case the payment is sent earlier. For March 2025, this group received their checks on Monday, March 3.

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients follow an entirely different schedule. SSI is a separate program from Social Security; it provides benefits to those with limited income and resources, regardless of their work history. These payments always arrive on the first of the month, unless that date happens to be a weekend or holiday. Since March 1 fell on a Saturday this year, SSI beneficiaries got their money a day early on Friday, February 28.

Some Americans qualify for both Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and regular Social Security benefits, which means they get two separate payments each month. If you’re in this group, your SSI check should have landed on February 28, while your regular Social Security payment arrived on March 3.

So, while most people have to wait for their assigned Wednesday, a lucky few still get their money on a fixed date, no birthday required!

Want to plan ahead? The Social Security Administration (SSA) has a full 2025 payment schedule available online. You can check it out on their official website to make sure you know exactly when to expect your next deposit.

How much do retired workers get from Social Security?

For the 52 million retirees in the U.S. relying on Social Security, the average monthly check comes in at just under $2,000. To be precise, the current average retirement payment is $1,978, according to the latest figures from the Social Security Administration (SSA).

Of course, not everyone gets the same amount. In 2025, the maximum possible monthly benefit for a retired worker is $5,108—but hitting that number means years of high earnings and waiting until full retirement age to cash in. For most folks, their Social Security check won’t make them rich, but it’s a crucial piece of their retirement puzzle.

Not everyone receiving Social Security benefits is a retiree. In fact, millions of Americans rely on disability, survivor benefits, or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) to make ends meet. Here’s how those payments stack up, according to the Social Security Administration (SSA):

• Disabled workers bring in an average of $1,580 per month.
• Survivor benefits provide around $1,546 monthly to those who qualify.
• SSI recipients, who typically have limited income and resources, receive an average of $714 each month.

While these numbers aren’t exactly enough to live large, they serve as a vital financial safety net for millions across the country.