Some Social Security Recipients to Get Stimulus Checks Starting Thursday

A sign announces the closure of the Massachusetts unemployment office, in Boston, on May 9, 2020. (Michael Dwyer/AP Photo)

Some Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients are likely to receive their stimulus payments on Thursday or checks will go in the mail starting on Friday, according to the Social Security Administration.

People who get the benefits—those with disabilities, people who are blind, or low-income older Americans—will get $1,200 for an individual earning under $75,000 and $2,400 for married couples who make less than $150,000.

“You should receive your $1,200 payment in the same way you receive your monthly SSI payment: Direct Deposit and Direct Express by May 13; Paper checks will begin May 15,” the agency wrote (pdf).

According to the Social Security Administration, the average SSI benefit is about $541 per month.

These payments are part of the $2.2 trillion CARES Act, which was passed in late March. Tens of millions of stimulus payments were distributed via a direct deposit and through the mail starting last month.

Most Social Security recipients have already got their stimulus payment, says the Social Security Administration website.

Before, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) urged people who don’t file taxes to use a special “non-filer tool,” which was created for the stimulus payment program, to give them details about dependents.

Meanwhile, on May 11, the IRS released more details about why some payments are less for some Americans. It noted that some people who owe past child support will have their payments deducted, claimed dependents are aged 17 or older, dependents are college students, or one has not filed a tax return in 2018 or 2019.

The agency also said that “federal tax refunds, including the Economic Impact Payment, are not protected from garnishment by creditors by federal law once the proceeds are deposited into a taxpayer’s bank account.”