Delayed stimulus checks for 30 million Social Security recipients could go out soon
Around 30 million people receiving Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits who are still waiting on their $1,400 stimulus checks could see the payments arrive soon.
The Social Security Administration (SSA) sent the IRS missing files on Thursday that has caused a delay in stimulus payments for 30 million Americans, the House Ways and Means committee said.
Earlier this week, the Treasury Department said it would be sending out 37 million more payments but that didn’t appear to include checks for eligible Social Security recipients.
The House committee had put pressure on the SAA on Wednesday, demanding that the delayed payment information be sent to the IRS “immediately.”
“The RS asked SSA to start sending payment files two weeks before the American Rescue Plan became law on March 11, 2021,” said Rep. Richard Neal, a Massachusetts Democrat and committee chairman.
SAA commissioner Andrew Saul attributed the delay to an apparent lack of staff funding.
Saul said in a statement on Thursday that “despite the fact that Congress did not directly provide SSA funding to support our work on EIPs (Economic Stimulus Payments)... we have worked tirelessly with our counterparts at IRS to provide to them the information they need to issue payments to our beneficiaries.”
A House committee spokesperson told Newsweek that explanation did not stand up to scrutiny, saying funds ”were appropriated to Treasury with the intent that they would be distributed to SSA in a timely manner.”
“It inexplicably took two weeks for the transfer to happen after the American Rescue Plan was signed into law, which is a clear failure of leadership from SSA,” the spokesperson said.
Now that the IRS has the payment information it needed, the House committee said the agency “must now take quick action to deliver” the checks.
WHO’S ELIGIBLE FOR A STIMULUS CHECK?
The third round of stimulus checks of up to $1,400 was included in the $1.9 trillion American Rescue plan signed into law by President Joe Biden on March 11. Some Americans have seen payments show up in their bank accounts, and millions got them through direct deposit on March 17.
Individuals making less than $75,000 and couples making less than $150,000 qualify for the full $1,400 payment, plus $1,400 per child or adult dependent.
The payments phase out for individuals earning more than $75,000 a year and joint filers earning more than $150,000 a year, with payments capping out at annual incomes of $80,000 and $160,000, respectively.
The IRS said it will automatically send stimulus checks to people who didn’t file a tax return but get Social Security retirement, disability or survivor benefits, Railroad Retirement benefits, Supplemental Security Income or Veterans Affairs benefits.
