The Social Security Administration Explains What is Delaying Your Stimulus Check

$2 trillion dollars were designated for disbursement to American citizens as part of the CARES Act. As COVID-19 and its implications sweep the nation, Congress approved this Act in hopes it would stimulate the economy.

Supplemental Security Income and Social Security beneficiaries were included in the list of recipients. In fact, those who earned $75,000 or less are eligible to receive $1,200. Married couples who earned $150,000 or less and filed their income taxes jointly are eligible to receive up to $2,400. In addition, families are eligible to receive $500 for each child under the age of 17.

Some SSD and SSI beneficiaries reportedly have yet to receive their economic impact payments. The Social Security Administration’s latest statement regarding these payments declared most people should receive these payments automatically via direct deposit. The problem arises in how quickly these payments can be issued, as well as those who did not have the needed information on file with the Internal Revenue Service by the May 5th deadline.

If you opted to receive your federal income tax return through direct deposit, the IRS has your information on file and can issue your payment directly to your account. The release of these funds began on April 15th, 2020.

Unfortunately, if you chose to or had to receive your income tax return by mail, you will receive your economic income payment in this fashion as well. The government’s goal is to send out 5 million checks per week. While that sounds like a lot, the large number of recipients means it could take as many as 20 weeks for all of the checks to be issued. There are currently 13.1 million outstanding economic impact payments; that’s not including data on SSI beneficiaries.

People who began receiving Social Security benefits in 2020, or did not file an income tax return in 2018 or 2019, are likely among those who have not received any type of economic impact payment. If you are one of these people, you can use the IRS’s non-filer tool to submit your information. Your payment will then be issued to your bank account or by a paper check. Otherwise, you will have to submit your own information (as well as information on your dependents) when you file your income tax return in order to receive your economic impact payment.

For further information on this topic, please read the Social Security Administration’s guide to scheduling payments. If you have questions regarding your Social Security benefits, or want help filing for Social Security, please send us a message or call us at 419-350-8277. Our experienced attorneys happily offer free consultations.

References

Konish, L. (2020, May 27). What Social Security and SSI beneficiaries need to know now about their $1,200 stimulus checks. Retrieved May 27, 2020, from CNBC