The first of two checks in the Supplemental Security Income program this month, worth up to $914 for individual filers, was sent to recipients on Thursday.

The payment, which went out on Thursday, is usually the sole payment for beneficiaries, but recipients will receive two checks in June because July 1 is on a weekend. The second check will be released on Friday, June 30, instead.

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The amount recipients receive varies, depending on how they file for the benefit. Those who file individually receive $914 every month, eligible couples receive $1,371, and essential persons, who live with people receiving SSI payments and provide them with necessary care, get a monthly payment of $458, according to the Social Security Administration.

SSI payments are given on top of regular Social Security benefits. The program provides monthly payments to adults and children with blindness or another disability and limited income. To qualify for SSI, a person has to be over 65, be totally or partially blind, or have a "physical or mental condition(s) that very seriously limits their daily activities for a period of 12 months or more or may be expected to result in death."

Although the payments are often disbursed on the first of each month, there are exceptions for when the first falls on a weekend or a holiday. In those cases, the SSA sends its monthly SSI checks on the last business day before the month begins.

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The adjusted schedule means beneficiaries still receive 12 checks per year, even though in some months they receive two checks and in others receive none. There are four months in which two payments will be delivered in the same month this year: March, June, September, and December. This is because the first of the month falls on a weekend or holiday in April, July, and October. Jan. 1 is always a holiday.

SSI payments were first issued by the SSA in January 1974, and payment rates have increased for cost-of-living adjustments since 1975, according to the agency.