PUBLISHED FRI, MAR 27 20201:03 PM EDTUPDATED SAT, APR 11
20202:22 PM EDT
KEY
POINTS
·
The coronavirus relief
package includes one-time checks for low- and middle-income Americans,
including those who live on government benefits.
·
The payments will be
based on your most recent tax return. If you receive government benefits and
don’t file a tax return, you may have to file in order to get your payment.
·
As government agencies
work to firm up details on how they will get that money into beneficiaries’
hands, here is what we know now.
Congress passed new legislation Friday that will
put stimulus relief checks in the hands of millions of Americans.
The checks will amount to $1,200 for those who
earn $75,000 or less, and $2,400 for couples making $150,000 or less. The
legislation now heads to the desk of President Donald Trump, who has said he
will sign it.
A big question among individuals who are living
on Social Security or other government benefits is whether they will be
eligible for a relief check.
The answer is yes, regardless of whether they
are on Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, or SSI, or veterans
benefits.
“They are eligible,” said Michael Zona, a
spokesman for Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, chairman of the Senate Finance
Committee that put together the legislation.
“There aren’t provisions explaining a list of
people eligible — it’s a broad definition, meant to be as all-encompassing as
possible,” Zona said.
Like other Americans, the size of the checks for
those on Social Security will be based on their adjusted gross income as
reported on their tax returns. The stimulus bill calls for using that
information from 2019 filings, if they are in, or otherwise 2018.
However, some Social Security beneficiaries do
not file returns either because they do not have taxable income or their tax
liability is very low. In that case, their relief checks will be based on
information in their 1099 form.
But not everyone receives those forms,
particularly those who are on Supplemental Security Income, or SSI, because
that is not taxable income.
“A possibility is for the [approximately] 4
million individuals affected by this quirk to file zero-liability tax returns,”
said Webster Phillips, senior policy analyst at the National Committee to
Preserve Social Security and Medicare.
“But no one knows for now how this will be
handled,” Phillips said.
SSI benefits are provided to older, blind or
disabled individuals who have little or no income.
“They’re the very poorest among us,” said Nancy
Altman, president of Social Security Works.
While the government already has their addresses
and sends them monthly payments, they may still have to file a tax return just
to get their stimulus money, she said.
“The people who are really focused on that
population are trying to figure out how this is going to work,” Altman said.
Plus, all payments will be disbursed by the
Treasury Department and not the Social Security Administration, which is a
complication, she said.
Still, both advocacy groups applauded the fact
that the package covers Social Security beneficiaries.
“That will go a long way,” Altman said of the
$1,200 checks.
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The legislation does not include the extra $200
per month in Social Security benefits that some Democratic senators, including
Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., had proposed.
However, because additional stimulus
legislation is anticipated, there could be another chance to get that passed.
“I think that will present another opportunity
to add the proposal to it,” said Dan Adcock, director of government relations
and policy at the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare.
One proposal that did make it into the final
legislation is the payroll tax holiday for businesses.
Typically, both workers and employers each
contribute 6.2% of wages to Social Security. Now, employers will get a break on
those taxes until the end of the year, if they wish.
“We’re concerned that it could be something that
would become permanent and make the (Social Security) program more vulnerable
to privatization or benefit cuts,” Adcock said.
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