Millions Waiting on Checks as Fourth Stimulus Direct Payment Gains Support From
Still waiting on your stimulus payment to arrive? You aren’t alone. Millions of people are waiting on their direct payments — even as talks of a fourth stimulus check pick up steam.
The third stimulus checks were signed into law just a few short weeks ago by President Joe Biden, but millions of qualifying Americans have already received their direct payments from the IRS. That’s a record time for stimulus payments, which took at least a week or two to start processing with the prior two stimulus packages under the former administration.
As of Wednesday, March 25, the IRS had issued payments to about 127 million qualifying Americans via direct deposit and paper checks. And, even more paper checks and debit cards will be on the way in the upcoming weeks.
These direct cash stimulus payments have helped to buoy the millions of Americans who are struggling to make ends meet due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But while this money is necessary for many to help cover empty bank accounts and essential bills, not everyone has received their payment yet. Millions of Americans are still waiting on their checks, even as talks of a fourth direct payment gain support from lawmakers. Here’s why you may still be waiting for your money — and what we know about the possibility of a fourth stimulus check.
Why are millions still waiting on stimulus checks?
While nearly 130 million Americans have already received, or are in line to receive, their direct stimulus payments, millions of others are still waiting on their payments to land in their bank accounts or mailboxes.
There are a couple of reasons for the delay. The first delay is caused by the type of payment you’re slated to receive.
As with other rounds of stimulus payments, this round of checks, which totals up to $1,400 for each qualifying adult or child in the household, have been primarily distributed by direct deposit up to this point.
Those whose bank account information was not on file with the IRS are stuck waiting for a paper check or debit card, which will have to make its way through the maze of the USPS mail system before it lands in your mailbox.
This can add significant delays to your payment. Luckily, you may not have to wait as long as you did with prior stimulus payments if you’re expecting to receive a paper check or debit card this round. According to the IRS, the Treasury Department mailed out millions of paper checks and debit cards last week in conjunction with the direct deposits it made to the accounts on file. More are expected to be mailed out in the coming weeks, which means there may not be as long of a delay as there was with the last two rounds of stimulus money.
The other cause for delay is directly related to Social Security, Veterans Affairs, or Railroad Retirement Board payments. There are nearly 30 million beneficiaries of Social Security, SSI (Supplemental Security Income), Veterans Affairs, and Railroad Retirement Board who have not received their third checks — and there is still no update on when they will receive them.
This problem may originate from the Social Security Administration (SSA) itself, according to a letter from the House Ways and Means Committee to the IRS last week.
“As of today, SSA still has not provided the IRS with the payment files that are needed to issue [stimulus checks] to these struggling Americans,” the letter stated. “Because SSA has inexplicably not sent the necessary payment files to the Internal Revenue Service, tens of millions of beneficiaries have yet to receive their desperately needed EIPs.”
The SSA sent the payment information for the 30 million Americans to the IRS following the receipt of the letter late last week, but it’s still unclear how long it will now take for the IRS to send the payments to those who are in line to receive them.
This delay in payment could end up causing even further financial issues for those who remain out of work due to the pandemic. Millions of Americans were relying on the direct stimulus…
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