In addition to the possibility of unexpected wage growth, you may also receive an “extra” paycheck at the beginning of 2025. There are two months in a year when those who are paid bi-weekly will have three paydays. The first such month in 2025 is January, at least for some individuals.
Who will receive the “extra” salary in January? Even if you are paid every two weeks, it does not necessarily mean you will receive three paychecks in January.
The simplest way to determine whether you will receive three paychecks is to check the timing of your last paycheck. If you were paid on the Friday after Christmas, then in January, you will only receive two paychecks. If you were paid before Christmas, then you are lucky because next month you will receive the “extra” salary. Your three paydays will be January 3rd, 17th, and 31st.
When is the next month with three paydays? If you received three paychecks in January, then the next month with three paydays will be August.
For employees who are paid bi-weekly but only received two paychecks in January, your first month with three paydays will be May, and the next one will be in October.
If you are paid every two weeks on Thursdays, then you will receive three paychecks in January and July, or in May and October.
Why is there an additional payday in January? It depends on the division of the calendar.
If you are paid every second Friday, then you will receive 26 paychecks in a year, totaling 52 weeks. This means you receive your salary twice a month, except in the two months with three paydays.
Is the salary really “extra”? Not exactly, if you are paid bi-weekly, you will receive 26 paychecks in a year.
Financial experts advise not to consider it as “extra” income but rather as a part of your annual income that you deserve.
Alliant Credit Union recommends reviewing your budget: if you can receive two (or four, depending on your pay frequency) paychecks on time, it is best to invest this “extra” money or use it for other financial goals, such as paying off debts or building up an emergency fund.
Arijit Roy, Consumer and Solutions Head at U.S. Bank, reminds the public that with the current interest rates, many variable interest rate debts can be quite high. Therefore, households and individuals are better off striving to reduce these debts.
Ensuring timely and accurate payment of wages to employees is an important consideration to maintain long-term employee satisfaction. However, for multinational corporations, establishing a global wage strategy can be challenging, one of the difficulties being the cultural differences in pay frequencies across countries.
For example, Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows that 52% of Australian employees are paid bi-weekly, making it the most common pay frequency in the country, followed by weekly (33%) and monthly (12%). Meanwhile, labor laws in the Philippines require wages to be paid at least bi-weekly or twice a month, with no more than a 16-day interval.
While bi-weekly pay, with 26 paydays a year, is the most common pay frequency in the United States and Canada, in the UK, monthly pay may be more readily accepted. In some countries and regions in the Middle East, a lunar-based pay system may be implemented.
(This article references a report from the “Hill Newspaper”)