Fourth Stimulus Check: $1400 for Seniors Gets Strong Push, September Child Tax Credit Delayed
The call for a fourth stimulus check continues for many desperate Americans. The nonpartisan Senior Citizens League even recently reported that seniors have skipped meals and essential medication due to steeper costs of living. On the other hand, IRS also updated about the delays in the delivery of the September Child Tax Credit.
In 2020 Congress passed two relief bills that each provided a round of stimulus checks, totaling up to $1,800 per person. The first one, courtesy of the CARES Act back in March 2020, came as the country was at its most vulnerable as businesses and individuals struggled to come to terms with the ‘new normal.
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Strong Push for Senior’s Fourth Stimulus Check?
The Senior Citizen League is calling for a fourth stimulus check for seniors. They said COLA adjustments have started affecting their ongoing payments, causing many seniors to go into debt. Low-income seniors worry about their budget for food benefits, rental subsidies, and other forms of support.
In 2021, the COLA rose by 1.3%, pretty standard for times of normality in the US economy. For the average retirement benefit, that amounted to $20 more per month for a total of $1,543. However, for 2022 it is projected to be radically different.
The COLA for 2022 is expected to be 6.0%, down from an estimate of 6.1% in August. From January 2022 the new average payment would be $1,628.
The group further explained the ongoing problems for their seniors. Recently, when five seniors visited a food pantry to apply their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the price of bacon shot up to 11 percent, beef up to 10.6 percent, and fresh fish up to 8.5 percent. As a result, seniors went with meals without meat, poultry, fish, and dairy.
September Child Tax Credit Delayed
It is important to note that the child tax credit payment delays have nothing to do with eligibility. Families that received the first and second payments automatically qualify for September, October, November, and December payments. Instead, the fault lies on IRS.
A week after the Internal Revenue Service sent out the third installment on the 2021 Child Tax Credit some families are scratching their heads wondering where their September payment is.
Despite receiving the first two installments in July and August, the scheduled payment for the 15 September still hasn’t arrived.
The IRS in a statement acknowledged that the agency is aware that “some individuals have not yet received their September payments,” and that the agency “is currently looking into this situation, and “will share more information as soon as possible.”
The exact number of parents affected isn’t known but hundreds of angry parents have contacted media outlets and taken to social media to inquire about the missing Child Tax Credit payments.
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Many have complained that the IRS can’t give them a clear explanation of why the payments haven’t been made. But this isn’t the first instance of payments not going out to eligible families as intended.
In August the IRS announced that some individuals that received payment via direct deposit in July would receive a paper check in August instead. This affected less than 15 percent of families who received payments by direct deposit in July and the agency said September payments would again be made via direct deposit.
IRS did not elaborate on the cause of delays. However, they confirmed that the problem lies in their systems. For now, American families are forced to wait for more updates and improvements from the IRS.
