The government has stepped in to help millions of Americans with direct payments during the novel coronavirus outbreak, but getting the stimulus checks to Social Security beneficiaries has not been an easy process, which may leave you wondering when your payment is set to arrive.
The Internal Revenue Service and Department of the Treasury have made it much easier for Social Security beneficiaries to receive their stimulus checks by eliminating the need to file a simple tax return, but some may still wait months to get their $1,200 maximum payments ($2,400 for joint filers) under the qualifier rules laid out in the $2.2 trillion CARES Act.
You can use the IRS’ new Get My Payment tool to check on the status of your stimulus check, but many on Social Security don’t file taxes, which could lead to a “Payment Status Not Available” error, and unnecessary headache.
If you’re wondering where your payment is, let’s break down the process the IRS is taking when it comes to the coronavirus stimulus checks.
How Stimulus Checks Are Sent to Social Security Beneficiaries
If you use direct deposit for Social Security, you probably have the best chance of receiving your stimulus check the quickest.
The IRS and Social Security Administration are working together to figure out which beneficiaries are eligible for the formally named Economic Impact Payments.
If you’re unsure about your direct deposit information, or just want to double-check to make sure everything is accurate, you can use the Get My Payment tool for some peace of mind and make any necessary changes to your bank information or address.
The good news is that Social Security beneficiaries waiting for their stimulus checks through direct deposit should get their money by the end of April, according to the IRS.
Not everyone uses direct deposit, though, and those opting for a paper check may be waiting a while. But the IRS has a plan to get checks to those who likely need it the most first.
According to The Motley Fool, the IRS started sending stimulus checks to Social Security beneficiaries and others opting for paper checks last week.
The agency plans to send out around 5 million checks per week, and it plans to send checks to lower-income earners first. So that means if you don’t have a lot of income outside of Social Security, your stimulus checks should be some of the first out the door.
If you take Social Security but also have a reliable retirement income, you may wait a while to receive your payment because these paper checks are going out to all eligible Americans, not just ones receiving Social Security.
It could be August or even September until you receive your payment in the mail if you make closer to the $99,000 cap for the stimulus check.
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiaries should also receive their stimulus checks in early May, and that’s for paper checks or direct deposit. That’s some welcome news after it was recently decided that SSI recipients also would not have to file any simple tax returns to receive their stimulus check.
If you are on Social Security and patiently waiting for your stimulus check, it may be a while depending on your income. But it seems like the IRS is doing what they can to get payments into people’s mailboxes during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• You can find all of the latest and most important news about Social Security here on Money & Markets.