IRS officials praised the agency’s delivery of the latest round of stimulus checks reaching eligible Americans in “record time”. Even so, some Social Security beneficiaries who urgently need financial assistance say that they are still waiting for emergency aid to be paid.
“I’m having to postpone everything – utility bills, cable TV. I had to be late in rent,” Mark Stevens, 65, of Pensacola, Florida, told CBS MoneyWatch.
Stevens noticed when the IRS on March 12 said that a payment date for Social Security beneficiaries would be announced “soon”, and he expected his stimulus money to arrive quickly, since the second relief payment approved by lawmakers by the end of December it had arrived within two days of the law authorizing it. I was not so lucky.
“For me, ‘soon’ is two to three days, not two weeks,” said Stevens, noting that he only has $ 600 in his bank account. “People in my situation are feeling cheated.”
The IRS did not specify when Social Security beneficiaries and other federal aid recipients can receive their stimulus checks, which total $ 1,400 for each eligible and dependent adult. But, as many get their federal payments through direct deposits into their bank accounts, they are perplexed as to why the tax agency is taking longer to deliver the checks to them than to other people. So far, the IRS has deposited more than 90 million payments into people’s accounts or sent prepaid checks and debit cards.
Legislators “alarmed” by the delay
The delay in delivering stimulus payments to Social Security beneficiaries and others with government assistance drew the attention of lawmakers. On Monday, members of the Chamber’s Ways and Means Committee wrote to IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig and Social Security Administration Commissioner Andrew M. Saul to express concern and demand an update on the check delivery to these groups by Friday.
“We are alarmed to learn recently that the majority [Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, Railroad Retirement Board and Veterans] beneficiaries who are not required to file an income tax return have not yet received their payments and that the IRS is unable to provide an expected schedule for these payments, “the lawmakers wrote in the letter.
They added: “Some of our most vulnerable elderly people and people with disabilities, including veterans who served our country with honor, cannot afford basic necessities while awaiting their arrears.”
The IRS said on Monday that it will deliver another batch of checks on March 24, although many of them are paper checks or prepaid debit cards that will be sent to recipients. It is possible that some Social Security beneficiaries are part of that round or subsequent rounds of payment. The IRS did not respond to requests for comment on the arrears of some Social Security beneficiaries and other programs.
The IRS prioritized the delivery of checks to people who filed their 2020 or 2019 tax returns, as well as those who used the “Non-Filers” website that the agency operated last year.
Problems getting answers
Part of the frustration felt by Stevens and others is the difficulty of reporting information from the IRS “Get My Payment” website. Stevens, who said he did not use the “Non-Filers” website last year, said he received a “Payment status not available” message,
This can mean a few things. This may indicate that the tax agency did not process a person’s payment or that people are not entitled to a stimulus payment, noted the IRS.
Among those struggling is Sydney Chandler, from Los Angeles, who has helped his disabled cousin track his stimulus check. So far, she said he has not received and is receiving the same response “Payment status not available” from the IRS website.
“What was irritating to me and a lot of people out there was the fact that the IRS already had their direct deposit information,” said Chandler. “You cannot get a response from the IRS or the Social Security Administration.”