Friday, September 22, 2023

Stimulus Update For Social Security Recipients

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Can Congress Make A Fourth Stimulus Check For Seniors Happen

Social Security recipients are still waiting for stimulus checks

Congress could act at any time, paving the way for a fourth stimulus check whether it be to seniors or Americans at large. The question is Will they?

It remains unlikely that a fourth stimulus check lands in bank accounts by the end of 2021. However, 2022 is a new year and if supply chain issues continue to drive up the cost of goods and services theres increased likelihood that another round of stimulus checks become necessary.

If not, Congress could have to act in controlling the cost of various goods and services to serve as a check-and-balance to growing economic uncertainty in the U.S. for people of all ages.

Lawmakers Alarmed By Delay

The delay in delivering stimulus payments to Social Security recipients and others on government assistance drew attention from lawmakers earlier this week. On March 22, members of the House Ways & Means Committee wrote to IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig and Social Security Administration Commissioner Andrew M. Saul to express concern and demand an update on the delivery of checks to these groups by Friday.

They followed with the letter on Wednesday, demanding “that you immediately provide the IRS with this information by tomorrow, March 25, 2021.”

In the March 22 letter, they noted, “Some of our most vulnerable seniors and persons with disabilities, including veterans who served our country with honor, are unable to pay for basic necessities while they wait for their overdue payments.”

We are giving the trump-appointed heads of the Social Security Admin **24 Hours** to get off their backsides and stop delaying sending stimulus checks to 30,000,000 Americans.

Bill Pascrell, Jr.

The IRS and Treasury have so far issued 127 million payments, with a value of $325 billion. Many of those checks are paper checks or pre-paid debit cards that will be mailed to recipients. It’s possible that some Social Security recipients will receive mailed checks from those earlier rounds of payments or subsequent rounds of payment.

What If The Irs Didn’t Send Me The Full Amount For The First Or Second Stimulus Payment

According to the IRS, people who receive Social Security retirement, SSDI, SSI and Railroad Retirement benefits, as well as Veterans Affairs beneficiaries, were automatically eligible for the first two stimulus payments. If you receive these federal benefits as your only form of income, you weren’t required to file a federal income tax return in 2018 or 2019. Under the CARES Act, you should have received a stimulus check automatically.

If that money didn’t arrive, it’s possible you might have had a payment garnished for child support or funds diverted to pay a specific kind of creditor, but the rules changed with the second check. However, an IRS error could also be a potential culprit or the IRS may have needed more information about your eligibility.

To receive your money now, you need to claim the additional amount as part of tax season 2020, using the Recovery Rebate Credit. Even if you don’t usually file taxes, you’ll have to file to get the funds. The deadline for filing your 2020 taxes was extended to May 17, 2021.

In some cases — if you received a letter from the IRS confirming that your payment was sent, but you never actually got the money, for instance — you may need to contact the IRS to request a payment trace.

The IRS says you can create and then check an IRS account to see more information about your eligibility around the first two stimulus payments.

Read Also: What Is The Cut Off For Stimulus Check

What Are Seniors Saying About A Fourth Stimulus Check

We have paid our dues and we need help, Ellen Nash told FingerLakes1.com. She described her financial situation to help people understand what seniors are going through during and even after the coronavirus pandemic. We need help keeping up with rising cost of living. But we also need help getting caught up for two decades of inaction.

She says that annual increases of 1% simply didnt get the job done.

Robert Belkins, a Tampa, Florida resident shared the same concern. I havent been able to afford buying a house for the last two decades, he explained to FingerLakes1.com. Social Security used to cover my rent now it doesnt even do that.

Both said that monthly Social Security checks represent more than 75% of their income. Experts say they are not alone. A vast majority of Social Security recipients see that income account for an overwhelming portion of their financial security.

Forget about whether Social Security is going to exist in 10 or whatever years, Belkins added. If it cant even keep seniors afloat now how insignificant will that income be in another 10 years?

Group Urges Congress To Provide $1400 Stimulus Checks To Social Security Recipients

IRS Stimulus Checks 4

As officials work to project the long term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, one group is calling on Congress to issue a fourth round of stimulus checks, just for older Americans.

Nonpartisan advocacy group The Senior Citizens League is warning that the cost of goods and services is rising for people with fixed incomes, months before next years federal cost-of-living bump.

Government economic experts estimated recent increases in inflation mean the cost-of-living adjustment for 2022 will approach 6%, a whopping jump from the 1.3% COLA awarded for this year.

Some of that may go for higher Medicare costs, however. The Medicare Part B premium for outpatient coverage was projected to rise by $10 a month in 2022, to $158.50 under the reports intermediate assumptions. The official number wont be released until later this year.

According to The Senior Citizens League, older Americans are already under pressure from other rising, unavoidable costs such as food, housing and transportation.

Now, The Senior Citizens League is mounting a campaign to urge Congress to pass a fourth round of stimulus checks that would send $1,400 payments to Social Security recipients only.

The group states on their petition:

TSCL officials said an email that went out last week to seniors prompted more than 100 replies, Mary Johnson, a Social Security and Medicare policy analyst with the group, told CNBC.

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What Should I Know If I’m Not Currently Living In The Us

If you’re a Social Security beneficiary with a foreign address whose monthly benefit is deposited in a foreign bank account, you should receive your third stimulus payment through either direct deposit, Direct Express card or a check in the mail, according to the SSA . The IRS began sending out payments to this group through direct deposit and Direct Express card on April 21, and began sending paper checks in the mail for this group on April 23

If you live abroad but receive your monthly benefits through a US bank, you should have received your first two payments by direct deposit to that account. If you still haven’t gotten your money, it will have to be claimed as part of a tax return. Find out everything you need to know about stimulus checks, citizenship and living abroad here.

When Can Social Security Recipients Expect The Stimulus Check

Even though there has been a delay getting the third payments to around 30 million people who receive benefits from Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, the Railroad Retirement Board and Veterans Affairs, because the Social Security Administration did not send the IRS the necessary paperwork.

But the IRS should have received the information it needed to send the payments last Thursday and announced that many Social Security beneficiaries and many others who dont normally file taxes will start getting their payments by April 7.

Residents can check the status of their payment using the Get My Payment tool on the IRS website.

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If I Receive Social Security Or Supplemental Security Income When Will I Receive My Economic Impact Payment

Date: November 18, 2021

The Internal Revenue Service has paid EIPs to Social Security beneficiaries and Supplemental Security Income recipients.

If you did not receive all the EIP amount you think you and your family are eligible for that was provided in the American Rescue Plan, you should file a 2021 Federal tax return in 2022 to claim the amount you are owed.

Can I Still Sign Up For A New Direct Express Account

IRS to begin sending stimulus payments for social security recipients

You can sign up for a new Direct Express account at any time to receive monthly federal benefits electronically, but if you don’t currently have an account, you’ll receive your third stimulus check a different way, likely .

If you closed your Direct Express account or there’s an error sending money to an inactive account, the payment will be returned to the IRS, which will reissue the stimulus money another way — probably via mail sent to your last known address. If you moved, make sure to inform the IRS and USPS of your new address.

To contact Direct Express to enroll in a new account for monthly benefits, call 1-800-333-1795, Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. PT . Note that Direct Express representatives may not be able to answer stimulus check questions.

If you have missing stimulus money for yourself or your dependents, you need to claim it when you file your tax return.

Also Check: Stimulus Check Direct Deposit 2021

Stimulus Check For Social Security Recipients

The House of Representatives passed the Build Back Better Act back on Friday, November 19, and this includes some benefits for seniors, although there is no sign of a stimulus check.

Medicare will be expanded to include hearing services, while government have more power when it comes to negotiating drug prices with pharmaceutical companies, but this bill is not going to be passed in the Senate ahead of 2022.

This is because Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin has declared that he will not be supporting the Build Back Better bill, which means that the millions of people that it supports are now left in the lurch. While there is progress expected in 2022, the $1.9 trillion bill will not be given the green light in 2021.

How Should A Representative Payee Use A Beneficiarys Economic Impact Payment

Date: March 26, 2021

The EIP belongs to the Social Security or SSI beneficiary. It is not a Social Security or SSI benefit. A representative payee should discuss the EIP with the beneficiary. If the beneficiary wants to use the EIP independently, the representative payee should provide the EIP to the beneficiary. If the beneficiary asks the representative payee for assistance in using the EIP in a specific manner or saving it, the representative payee can provide that assistance outside the role of a representative payee.

Read Also: Does Everyone Get A Second Stimulus Check

Millions Remain Waiting For Money

But nearly 30 million Social Security and Supplemental Security Income beneficiaries are waiting to get money through their Economic Impact Payments, according to a letter sent by leaders on the House Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday.

Because SSA has inexplicably not sent the necessary payment files to the Internal Revenue Service, tens of millions of beneficiaries have yet to receive their desperately needed EIPs, according to Chairman Richard Neal, a Massachusetts Democrat, and oversight subcommittee chairman Bill Pascrell Jr., a New Jersey Democrat, and others.

Wednesdays letter followed another scathing commentary Monday when Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee criticized both the commissioners of the IRS and the Social Security Administration about the handling of the latest stimulus rollout.

Some of our most vulnerable seniors and persons with disabilities, including veterans who served our country with honor, are unable to pay for basic necessities while they wait for their overdue payments, according to the letter signed by Neal, Pascrell Jr. and others.

The letter to IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig and Social Security Commissioner Andrew Saul expressed alarm that most Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, Railroad Retirement Board and Veterans Affairs beneficiaries who are not required to file a tax return had not yet received their payments.

More:Paper checks, prepaid Visa cards going out in mail more direct deposits coming March 24

Stimulus Payment Update: When Ssi Social Security Recipients Should Get Their Checks

Second Stimulus Check Coming In a Month + SSI, SSDI, SSA ...

The Internal Revenue Service will begin mailing stimulus paper checks on April 9 to Social Security and Supplemental Security Income recipients who receive federal benefits by mail, the Social Security Administration advised Monday.

The IRS was expected to begin issuing stimulus payments this past weekend to recipients who don’t usually file taxes. The federal body projected the “majority of these payments would be sent electronically and received on April 7.”

Social Security recipients with a non-U.S. address who don’t usually file taxes and receive their benefits via direct deposit or Direct Express will receive their stimulus electronically “on or about April 21,” according to the SSA.

“Paper check EIPs , for beneficiaries who receive their monthly Social Security payment in the mail, will be mailed beginning April 23,” the SSA said.

Federal benefit recipients will generally get their stimulus funds in “the same way that they receive their regular benefits,” the IRS stated on March 30. Benefits are usually issued to recipients via their Direct Express card accounts.

“More details on this third round of Economic Impact Payments and federal benefit recipients will be available soon on IRS.gov,” the IRS said on March 30.

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Will My Stimulus Check Arrive As An Eip Card

The IRS projects that 5 million stimulus payments will be made by Economic Impact Payment debit card, but checks going out to Social Security recipients won’t take the form of an EIP card. According to the SSA support website: “The IRS does not plan to issue prepaid debit cards to beneficiaries for this third round of EIPs … The Social Security Administration does not administer the EIP debit card program, and did not decide who received an EIP debit card instead of a paper check.”

New Round Stimulus Raise For Ssi And Ssdi

Hey everyone now it’s more stimulus payment for social security recipients such as SSI, SSDI, VA, and low-income beneficiaries yes if you receive social security benefits and looking forward to getting some more money then this is a very important topic for you so don’t miss any part from this article and remember that we are going to write another article which will allow you to get a 10,000 credit card even if you receive any sort of social security benefits with no credit check at all. so before moving forward we have another big news for you yes do you know that a number of senators, as well as lawmakers, are now pushing for a monthly stimulus check yes you heard it absolutely right a stimulus payment every month and we would like to ask you this very important question do you support this two thousand dollars monthly stimulus payment to every adult.

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What If A Beneficiary Alleges A Representative Payee Misused The Economic Impact Payment

Date: March 26, 2021

Because an EIP is not a Social Security or SSI benefit, SSA does not have authority to investigate or determine whether the EIP has been misused. However, if SSA receives an allegation that the EIP was not used on behalf of the beneficiary, SSA may decide to investigate for possible misuse of the beneficiarys Social Security or SSI benefit payments. SSA may also determine the representative payee is no longer suitable and appoint a new representative payee.

Amount Of Your Third Stimulus Check

Timeline for third stimulus check for social security recipients

Every eligible American will receive a $1,400 third stimulus check “base amount.” The base amount jumps to $2,800 for married couples filing a joint tax return. You also get an extra $1,400 for each dependent in your family .

Not everyone will receive the full amount, though. As with the first two stimulus payments, third-round stimulus checks will be reduced potentially to zero for people reporting an adjusted gross income above a certain amount on their latest tax return. If you filed your most recent tax return as a single filer, your third stimulus check will be phased-out if your AGI is $75,000 or more. That threshold jumps to $112,500 for head-of-household filers, and to $150,000 for married couples filing a joint return. Third-round stimulus checks will be completely phased out for single filers with an AGI above $80,000, head-of-household filers with an AGI over $120,000, and joint filers with an AGI exceeding $160,000.

You can use our handy Third Stimulus Check Calculator to get a customized estimated payment amount. All you have to do is answer three easy questions.

Recommended Reading: When Will We Get The Third Stimulus Check

Some Federal Benefit Recipients Already Have Received An Economic Impact Payment

The IRS emphasizes that federal benefit recipients in these groups who file tax returns already started to receive Economic Impact Payments earlier this month, along with other taxpayers.

Because some federal benefit recipients do not file tax returns, the IRS did not have in its tax systems the current information needed to generate the Economic Impact Payments. Last year, the IRS took the unprecedented step to receive and review data from other federal agencies and use that data to deliver payments automatically to these recipients. This action which had never occurred in previous stimulus efforts minimized risk and burdens for the American public during the pandemic. Due to regular changes in the federal benefits population, the IRS needed to receive updated information this month from other government agencies. With these critical updates, eligible federal benefit recipients who don’t normally file an income tax return will get a payment automatically in the next few weeks.

Making these automatic payments to federal beneficiaries involves a complex, multi-step process to handle recipient data from the other agencies. For the first round of Economic Impact Payments last year, recipients in these groups received payments within four to six weeks after the CARES Act was signed into law. For the American Rescue Plan signed March 11, the IRS projects that it is on track to deliver Economic Impact Payments to federal beneficiaries at the same or faster speed.

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