New amounts are going out to Social Security recipients but they are in line for a stimulus check one more time in December alone. The exact dates and schedules have been revealed. There remains only one more major payment until the recipients of Social Security receive bigger stimulus checks next year.
In October the Social Security Administration announced that the Cost-of-Living-Adjustment had been increased to 8.7%, the biggest boost since 1981. Beneficiaries receiving their December 2022 payments will get this year 5.9% COLA. Such adjustments have done little to help seniors deal with the inflated cost of living.
In the normal run of events, the Social Security stimulus checks will go out according to the same normal monthly schedule. The payments will go out on three Wednesdays of the month, the second, third, and fourth.
Beneficiaries whose birthday is between the first and tenth of a month will receive their payments on December 14th. Those whose birthdate falls between the eleventh and twentieth of the month will get their payments on the second Wednesday, which is on December 21. And if your birth date falls between the twenty-first and the end of the month will receive their payments on December 28.
And those who do not receive their payment on the expected date, the SSA has advised allowing 3 extra mailing dates before contacting the SSA.
Seniors who simultaneously qualify for the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits will receive two SSI payments this month. The Social Security Administration has revealed that the Supplemental Security Income benefits are normally paid on the first of a month unless the date happens to be a weekend. In such a case, the payments will go out on a Friday ahead of the first.
Much Bigger Payment In 2023
Beneficiaries who do not receive their payment on the stipulated date are advised by the Social Security Administration to wait for three extra days before contacting the SSA.
Seniors who have qualified for the Supplemental Security Income benefits (SSI) will also receive 2 SSI payments this December. The SSA website has revealed that the SSI benefits are normally paid on the first day of the month unless it happens to be a holiday or a weekend. In such an event, the payments are issued on the Friday before the first of the month.
The Social Security Administration also administers the SSI program and even provides monthly stimulus checks to both children and adults with blindness or disability and who have income below specific financial limits and scant resources.
SSI payments also go out to people who are 65 years or older and without disabilities. They must also meet the stipulated financial qualification. The quirk in the payment schedule has led to double SSI stimulus checks being sent in three months of the year which are again adjusted by not sending any stimulus checks in three other months.
The months when the payment schedule is double with two SSI payments are April, September, and December. And in January, May, and October, no payments are sent by the authorities.
Recipients of Social Security can look forward to a much bigger payment next year. Social Security benefits will increase by a little more than $140 a month next year according to the Social Security Administration. The yearly average stimulus checks for seniors above 65 years in 2023 will be around $30,708, which comes to $2,559 every month.
California Stimulus Checks Make No Mention Of Payments To Social Security Beneficiaries
Residents of California who filed their 2020 income tax returns by October 15, 2021, and have an Adjusted Gross Income for 2020 below $250,000 as individuals and $500,000 as married couples filing jointly are in for a middle-class stimulus check. The payments will be between $200 and $1,050 depending on the filing status, the AGI for 2020, and the presence of a dependent.
Individual filers will have a 2020 AGI of less than $75,000 and receive $350 and an equal amount if they include a dependent. For joint filers with a combined AGI for 2020 of less than $150,000, the stimulus check is $350 each plus the same amount for any dependent.
Individual filers with an AGI for 2020 that is between $75,001 and $125,000 will get a $250 stimulus check plus the same amount for any dependents. For joint filers with a 2020 AGI between $150,001 and $250,000, the amount comes to $250 each plus the same amount for any dependent.
The highest tier is for individual AGI of between $125,001 and $50,000 and for joint filers the AGI should be between $250,001 and $500,000 for a stimulus check of $200 each plus the same amount for dependents.
In the case of dependents, the amount is limited to a single dependent, whatever their number.
But there appears to be no mention of the surplus amount going to help people who are in desperate need of money during the record inflation that has affected all of America. Those whose earnings are too low to necessitate the need to file the California state taxes are ineligible for the California stimulus check given for record inflation in the state.
All low-income residents, SSI, SSA, SSDI, and SSP beneficiaries all find themselves outside the ambit of the California state stimulus check if they have not filed their income tax returns in 2020.
Even for the earlier Golden State stimulus check I and II, people receiving Social Security benefits were excluded from the payments if they did not file their income tax returns.
While Governor Gavin Newsom talked about the extra money going to residents who suffered financial difficulties during the pandemic and the recession and inflation that followed, it is unusual that Social Security stimulus check recipients have been excluded from such stimulus packages but continue to be in desperate need of some money.
California is the richest state in America and all low-income residents, including those who do not pay any state income tax, should not be excluded from any state stimulus packages or plans.
Beneficiaries of social security funds depend exclusively on these checks for their survival and excluding them from any additional benefits from the administration does not seem a good idea.