No Sign Of Stimulus Checks From The Federal Administration: Maximum Benefit Under Supplemental Security Income (SSI) $1,261 Per Month

Stimulus Check
Stimulus Check

Among the few federal payments that continue to arrive from the White House is the Supplemental Security Income (SSI). It sends monthly payments to over 8 M citizens who have little resources and limited income. To qualify for this stimulus check people must be 65 years or above. People of any age who have certain disabilities or those who have to be blind also qualify for this monthly relief support from the federal administration.

The medical condition mentioned should prevent a person from working and be a long-term condition or one which is life-threatening.

Normally, the maximum federal benefits under SI change every year. There was a bigger check-in in 2022 as there was an increase in the Consumer Price Index starting from the third quarter of 2020 and continuing to the third quarter of the next year.

The monthly stimulus check of $841 for individuals and $1,261 for couples. Several states add their funds to the Federal SSI checks. Thus, the final stimulus check is bigger in some American states.

The benefit amount under SSI and the state supplemental payment extra amount varies according to your income, living arrangement, and multiple other factors.

Seven states and territories do not give any additional supplements to their residents. They are Arizona, Arkansas, Mississippi, North Dakota, Northern Mariana Islands, Tennessee, and West Virginia. The rest of the states pay and administer their supplemental stimulus checks and residents may contact the State authorities for information about the payments.

Supplemental Security Income Payments May Be Paid Along With Social Security Benefits And Food Assistance

The SSI payments normally come in on the first of each month unless it happens to be a holiday or a weekend. A majority of SSI beneficiaries also qualify for food assistance and Social Security benefits under SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. They are administered by the SSA, while SNAP gets its funding through USDA, the dept. of Agriculture in America, though it is administered at the state level.

SSI beneficiaries receive their payment around 3 days late if it is through the US Postal Service. The detailed schedule of payments can be viewed on the Social Security Schedule calendar.

Claiming Social Security Survivor Benefits

Surviving Dependents, widows, and widowers of Social Security beneficiaries stand to gain benefits. This benefits immensely benefit young families with children.

If the principal beneficiary pays into Social Security, a part of the taxes are paid out for the benefit of survivors. Widows, parents, and children could be eligible for benefits based on those earnings.

The benefits are payable when the principal beneficiary dies. The deceased beneficiary must have worked for a certain period for their family to become eligible for the pension. The family should immediately notify the authorities when the person dies. This process cannot be applied online and should be done by a visit to the Social Security Administration office.

In most cases the funeral home reports the death of the person to the SSA. This can only be done once the family members give the Social Security number of the deceased person to the funeral home to help them make the report.

Death can also be reported, or an application made for benefits by calling 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778). A Social Security representative can be contacted at this number between 8 am and 7 pm on weekdays. The Social Security Office Locator helps find the phone number for the nearest office of the SSA. The same can also be had by looking under the Social Security Office Information.

To ensure that dependents get their benefits, they should apply promptly for survivor benefits as they may not be retroactive in some cases. If the benefits come in automatically without the need for an application on a parent’s or a spouse’s record, a separate application need not be filed. All monthly benefits given to the chief beneficiary will be automatically transferred in most cases after the authorities receive the report of death.

The special sump-sum payments are also automatically transferred in most cases. Those getting disability or retirement benefits on their record need not apply for survivor benefits. The authorities also check if any higher benefit is due to a widow or a widower.

Lack of any required documents when filing for Social Security benefits should not be a reason for delaying the application. In most cases, the local SS office will contact the information office of the state and verify the online information of the beneficiary at no extra cost.

Dependents who mail their documents must include the SS number to help match them with the correct application. Nothing should be written on the original document and the number should be written on a separate sheet and included in the mailing envelope along with the other documents.

Stimulus Checks And The Supplemental Security Income

The Social Security Administration had announced way back on August 21 that economic impact payments or the stimulus checks linked to the pandemic would no longer be considered as income while determining eligibility or calculation benefits for Supplemental Security Income.

This change was retroactive to cover all the stimulus checks. The SS Administration said that it would restore payments for recipients who had their benefits terminated or reduced as they received stimulus payments before the rule was finally announced.

Over 7.7M were receiving monthly SSI benefits at the end of 2021, and 2.3M of them were 65 or older. The issue of delinking the stimulus check payments from the SSI arose from the role income plays in the eligibility for the income. It is a need-based benefit for the disabled and the aged who have very limited resources.

But no income is covered by the exemption. Only the $1,200 stimulus check under the CARES Act issued in March 2020, the $600 stimulus check issued in December the same year, and the third stimulus check of $1,400 issued in March 2021 were approved for exclusion by Congress.

The Social Security Administration went back to the start of the pandemic at the beginning of 2020 to identify beneficiaries under SSI who had their payment terminated or reduced as they had received stimulus checks. In most cases the correction is automatic, and the beneficiaries did not have to take any action. The agency notified beneficiaries by mail when the benefits were restored, the claim status restored, or if it required more information from the beneficiaries.