Today, the Social Security Advisory Board (“Board”) sent a letter to Commissioner of Social Security, Andrew Saul, urging action related to relief payments to Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients and restoring representative payee monitoring.
The Board urged the Commissioner, under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (Pub. L. 116-136), to work with the Department of the Treasury to ensure that those who receive SSI payments also receive relief payments automatically and quickly, without filing any forms. ...Honestly, unless your goal is to harass SSI recipients, I don't know why you want to make them go to the trouble of filing any kind of tax return. Social Security has all the info in its databases needed to make these payments. Forcing SSI recipients to file tax returns makes more work, not just for them but also for the IRS and Social Security, which will both be receiving phone calls about this. Of course, one guiding principle of the Trump Administration is what some have referred to as "performative cruelty", that is cruelty for the sake of cruelty conspicuously aimed at disfavored groups. Poor people are certainly disfavored by this Administration. If you’re poor, it must be because you’re lazy or because God doesn’t love you. In any case, if you’re poor, you can’t be a Republican and that’s good enough reason for you to be punished.
Update: More pressure on this issue, now from AARP:
... When contacted by AARP for clarification about the requirement for low-income SSI and VA beneficiaries to file a tax return to receive a stimulus payment, an IRS official would only say that “guidance is still in the process.” In addition, SSA announced on April 3 that it is working with the IRS to clarify the requirements for SSI beneficiaries: “We are working closely with Treasury to address outstanding questions about our SSI recipients in an attempt to make the issuance of economic impact payments as quick and efficient as possible.” SSA added that economic impact payments won't count as income for SSI recipients, and the payments will be excluded from resource calculations for 12 months.
As it did with Social Security beneficiaries, AARP is urging the IRS to reverse course and make automatic stimulus payments to SSI and VA beneficiaries without the burden of filing any additional paperwork such as a tax return. Due to the coronavirus outbreak, free tax services for low-income filers such as the AARP Foundation Tax-Aide program have been forced to suspend operations. ...
Why would an SSI recipient (someone who is already not working and has not been for some time) be entitled to a relief payment? His or her economic situation is not impacted by COVID-19. I am having a hard time with this one. So many workers and businesses are being negatively impacted and desperately need relief. It seems foolish to cloud the issue with what is basically a cash award to SSI recipients. Save that for after the pandemic. Filing a tax return or filling out a form shouldn't be the issue here. What am I missing?
ReplyDeleteAnon 12:10 I would have to agree. Believe the stimulus is for those trying to maintain close to their current living situation and close to current income. SSI recipients are tied to what they can get for being disabled and poor.
ReplyDeleteI do agree that making them file IRS returns (or anything) is unnecessary. They already have the info. It just seems like a ridiculous hurdle in these times.
@12:10
ReplyDelete1. SSI recipients are as entitled to the relief payment as much as anyone else because they are consumers.
2. The fact that workers and businesses are being negatively impacted and need relief is irrelevant as the government can actually do more than one thing at a time and the bill did dozens of things (stimulus checks, enhanced unemployment benefits, small business loans, etc.)
3. Why save a stimulus package till after the pandemic ends, when stimulus is no longer needed?
@1:13
1. The stimulus is literally for all consumers, not just those recently harmed by the economic downturn.
2. This has nothing to do with maintaining current living situations or current income. The checks don't adjust based on prior income and don't adjust based on personal circumstances.
Contrary to public opinion, many SSI recipients are too sick to leave their house evenwithoutthe coronavirus scare. Have you checked out the rise in delivery services lately? SSI recipients costs have increased just like everyone else's. Instead of penny pinching on SSI can't you just be grateful that you are not on SSI during this horrible time.
ReplyDeletemany people receiving SSI can actually work. They work very little, but they do. It's possible that they have lost their jobs. Many SSI recipients work in what is called "sheltered jobs". Others can work to a set amount of hours to not be over-resourced. SSI has incremental increases, not enough to keep up with inflation of food and rent increases. Many people on SSI also are sick and have medications they must pay from their $932 SSI that medicare may not cover. That amount is supposed to cover rent, food, medical, utilities, and not to mention clothes, a phone....it is no wonder why so many people with SSI are becoming homeless. if you don't understand SSI and the people that need it, you should just count your blessings.
ReplyDeleteIf the purpose of the payments are to stimulate the economy, then it is almost guaranteed that money to SSI recipients will all be spent.
ReplyDelete@1:33
ReplyDeleteCorrect. They are literally going to be one of the most efficient groups for stimulus purposes.