The chaos caused by the Covid-19 pandemic was widespread. Millions of jobs were lost, the lives of many came to a halt, and the American economy collapsed.
As support in the face of the crisis, the american governmentduring the administration of Donald Trump and Joe Biden, sent three Economic Impact Payments, known as stimulus checks.
The checks were sent three times with different amounts, $1,200, $600 and the last one was for $1,400 and although, overall, they were a success, The effects that these were going to have on certain benefits, including Supplemental Security Income, were not considered. (SSI).
Why did some people who received stimulus checks lose Social Security benefits?
For some recipients of welfare checks, such as Supplemental Security Income (SSI), They have been denied their benefits for exceeding the income limits caused by the money received thanks to the stimulus checks.
Checks are supposed to be discounted as countable for SSI eligibility purposesbut there have been problems in practice.
A group of senators has asked the Social Security Administration (SSA) that provides more information about those affected by the problem. The three Democratic senators, Ron Wyden, Sherrod Brown and Bob Casey, are leading the initiative and demanding information on these points:
- The number of people who had their benefits reduced or suspended due to the stimulus checks.
- How many of these people had their benefits restored?
- A list of agency actions to address problems,
- How many applicants have been rejected due to stimulus checks
“We are deeply concerned that the beneficiaries [de la SSI] are receiving overpayment notices by mistake, because SSA is not following its own determination to exclude EIPs [Pagos de Impacto Económico] of accounting resources”, the group said in a statement.
“Benefit suspensions and overpayment notices, regardless of the cause, can have a profound negative impact on their lives”, the senators added.
What to do if you are denied SSI payments?
It is estimated that 7.6 million people receive monthly SSI payments and several have been affected due to the income that the stimulus checks represented.
Expert advice is File an appeal if your claim for benefits has been denied.
“If you receive an overpayment notice from the Social Security Administration and believe it was due to a Covid stimulus payment or another error made by the Social Security Administration, you should file an appeal,” said Darcy Milburn.director of Social Security and Health Policy at The Arc, an advocacy organization for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
The SSA has responded to the senators
The social welfare organization says it is aware of the request and will give senators the information they seek.
“We include information that [los cheques de estímulo] “They are not counted as income when received and will not count against SSI applicants or recipients’ resource limits, no matter how long they keep those funds.”said to CNBC Social Security Administration spokesperson Nicole Tiggemann.
2023-10-28 22:18:27
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