Garamendi: Californians on Social Security to receive $1,400 payments beginning this week

Congressman John Garamendi (D-CA) announced Wednesday that many Social Security recipients and others who have not yet received their Economic Impact Payments of up to $1,400 from the American Rescue Plan should expect to see electronic payments hit their bank accounts or be loaded onto their Direct Express Cards beginning today.

• This week’s latest round of electronic payments applies specifically to those who receive Social Security retirement, survivor or disability (SSDI), Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) benefits and who did not file a 2019 or 2020 tax return or did not use the Non-Filers tool.

• Most payments will be automatically deposited into banks accounts or loaded onto the Direct Express Cards where they receive Social Security benefits. Those waiting on paper checks or debit cards through the mail should expect to receive their payments over the next several days.

“Help is here, and we want to get California seniors get the money that is rightfully theirs,” said Garamendi.

Many Californians have already received their payments. In total, 80 percent of Californians are expected to receive Economic Impact Payments of up to $1,400 per person through the American Rescue Plan that Garamendi helped pass. Garamendi encourages all Californians to use the “Get My Payment” tool from IRS.gov to check the status of their payments and make sure they receive the money they are owed. In most cases, these payments are automatic and no action is necessary to receive them.

• How to Check the Status of your Payment: Rep. Garamendi is encouraging Californians to go online and check the status of their payment using the “Get My Payment” tool at: https://www.irs.gov/coronavirus/get-my-payment.

• What to Expect: Californians could start seeing payments show up in their bank accounts as soon as this week if their 2019 or 2020 taxes have been processed by the IRS or they used the “non-filer portal” for previous payments and provided their bank account information to the IRS. Recipients of other federal government benefits, like Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, Railroad Retirement Board, or Veterans Affairs benefits, should expect to receive a payment automatically as well. For Californians awaiting a paper check or debit card, some checks have been mailed already, but most will find their paper checks or debit cards in the mail over the next several weeks.

• How Many Californians Will Get Payments: According to the White House, more than 22 million adults and 9 million children in California are eligible to receive payments of up to $1,400 per person through the American Rescue Plan that Rep. Garamendi helped pass into law. That means 80 percent of all California adults and 81 percent of all California children in the state are set to receive payments.

• Who is Eligible for Payments: The American Rescue Plan that Garamendi helped pass into law included Economic Impact Payments of up to $1,400 per person. Combined with the $600 down payments enacted in December, these additional checks will finish the job on the promise to put $2,000 in Americans’ pockets. Individuals earning up to $75,000 annually, heads of household earning up to $112,500 annually, and couples earning up to $150,000 annually will receive the full $1,400 per person, for themselves and their dependents. After that, the checks begin to phase out, with payments stopping at individuals earning $80,000 in annual income, heads of household earning $120,000 in annual income and married couples earning $160,000 in annual income.