When Will Social Security Recipients Get Stimulus Checks?

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has sent dozens of new pandemic stimulus checks to government retirees who don’t typically submit federal income taxes. Veterans Affairs recipients who do not typically file taxes are now receiving payments from the government. However, according to the Social Security Administration (SSA), if you are a beneficiary and have not yet received your stimulus check, you must submit a 2020 tax return now to get any remaining stimulus benefits.

Many low-income beneficiaries, such as those receiving Social Security retirement and disability benefits and those receiving SSI benefits managed by the Social Security Administration, aren’t required to submit tax forms, and their payments have been delayed as a result. To guarantee that the stimulus payments reach qualified individuals, the IRS said it was waiting for updated information on bank accounts and addresses of federal recipients from the SSA. AARP has pressed the IRS and the SSA to expedite the delivery of those benefits to individuals who don’t submit federal income taxes.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) provided the IRS with updated information on March 25 for the IRS to begin sending stimulus checks to the roughly 30 million federal recipients who have yet to receive them.

As a result, most people receiving Social Security retirement and disability benefits, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and Railroad Retirement Board benefits received their checks on April 7, primarily via direct deposits or payments to their Direct Express cards. This includes those who didn’t file their 2019 or 2020 tax returns or use the IRS’s online Non-Filers Tool the previous year.

On April 2, the IRS began sending those 25 million payments, totaling $36 billion. Since then, more funds have been paid every week.

The SSA’s revised information ensured that direct deposits were made to the right bank accounts and that paper checks and debit cards were sent to the correct locations. The updated data should help minimize the number of payments made to people who have passed away, which was an issue during the first two rounds of economic stimulus. The third stimulus payment is not available to anyone who died in 2020 or earlier.

However, the SSA now advises that if you haven’t received a first, second, or third stimulus payment or haven’t received the entire amount, you should submit a 2020 tax return as soon as possible and claim the 2020 recovery rebate credit (RRC). Even if people have no income to declare for 2020, they should file a tax return. The IRS will pay the RRC as a tax refund after the tax return has been processed. Any extra third stimulus payments due in 2021 will be sent separately by the IRS. There is no need to do anything further if they have already submitted their 2020 tax return.