Virus relief payment tips offered for SSI recipients

The Social Security Administration announced last week that Supplemental Security Income recipients will receive automatic economic impact payments directly from the Treasury Department.
Treasury anticipates these automatic payments no later than early May.

SSI recipients with no qualifying children do not need to take any action to receive their $1,200 economic impact payment. The payments will be automatic.

SSI recipients who have qualifying children under age 17, however, should not wait for their automatic $1,200 individual payment. They should go to the IRS’s webpage at www.irs.gov/coronavirus/non-filers-enter-payment-info-here and visit the Non-Filers: Enter Your Payment Info section to provide their information.

By entering information on the IRS website about themselves and their qualifying children, they will receive the $500-per-dependent child payment in addition to their $1,200 individual payment. If SSI beneficiaries in this group do not provide their information to the IRS soon, they will have to wait until later to receive their $500 per qualifying child.

The agency will not consider economic impact payments as income for SSI recipients, and the payments are excluded from resources for 12 months.

Social Security retirement, survivors, and disability insurance beneficiaries (who don’t normally file taxes) will also qualify for automatic payments of $1,200 from Treasury. These payments are anticipated to start arriving around the end of April.

Recipients will generally receive the automatic payments by direct deposit, Direct Express debit card or by paper check, just as they would normally receive their SSI or Social Security benefits.

For beneficiaries with dependent children who use Direct Express debit cards, additional information will be available soon regarding the steps to take on the IRS website when claiming children under 17.

The eligibility requirements and other information about the economic impact payments can be found at www.irs.gov/coronavirus/economic-impact-payment-information-center. In addition, please continue to visit the IRS at www.irs.gov/coronavirus for the latest information.

The agency will continue to update Social Security’s COVID-19 web page at www.socialsecurity.gov/coronavirus/ as further details become available.