SSDI recipients did receive the second stimulus check in most cases

If you were receiving Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) in December 2020, you received the second stimulus payment automatically. The payment was $600 per adult and $600 per dependent child under 17. The IRS and Social Security coordinated to send these checks to SSDI beneficiaries without requiring a separate process or tax return.

The second stimulus check was distributed between late December 2020 and early January 2021. Most SSDI recipients received the payment by direct deposit to the same bank account where their regular SSDI payment was deposited. If you did not have direct deposit set up, the payment came as a paper check or debit card in the mail.

Unlike the first stimulus check, which required some SSDI recipients to file a tax return to receive their payment, the second check reached SSDI beneficiaries more directly. Social Security had your address and banking information on file, so the IRS used that data to process and send the payment.

Key Takeaways

  • SSDI recipients automatically received the second stimulus check of $600 per adult and $600 per dependent child without filing a separate form.
  • The payment was sent between late December 2020 and early January 2021, using the same direct deposit account or mailing address Social Security had on file.
  • If you did not receive the second stimulus check by February 2021, you could claim it on your 2020 tax return as the Recovery Rebate Credit.
  • The second stimulus check was not counted as income for SSDI purposes and did not affect your monthly benefit amount.

How the second stimulus check was sent to SSDI recipients

The IRS worked directly with Social Security to identify all SSDI beneficiaries and send them the second stimulus payment. You did not need to contact Social Security or the IRS to receive it. The agency used the payment information already in your SSDI file.

If you had direct deposit set up for your SSDI check, the stimulus payment went to that same account. This was the fastest method—most direct deposit recipients saw the money within days of the IRS releasing it in late December 2020. If you received your SSDI benefit by paper check or debit card, the stimulus check arrived by mail, which took longer.

Some SSDI recipients received the stimulus as a paper check. Others received it on an Economic Impact Payment card, a prepaid debit card issued by the Treasury Department. The card arrived in a plain envelope with instructions on how to set up and use it.

What to do if you did not receive the second stimulus check

If you were receiving SSDI in December 2020 but did not receive the second stimulus payment by mid-January 2021, the most common reason was an outdated address on file with Social Security. If you had moved and not updated your address, the paper check or debit card was sent to your old location.

You could claim the second stimulus check on your 2020 tax return using the Recovery Rebate Credit. This required filing a 2020 federal income tax return, even if you normally did not file one. The IRS would then send you the payment you missed, either as a refund or applied to any taxes you owed.

If you filed your 2020 tax return and claimed the Recovery Rebate Credit but did not receive the payment within several months, you could contact the IRS at 1-800-829-1040 to check the status. The IRS kept a record of who received the stimulus payment and who still owed it.

Whether the second stimulus check affected your SSDI benefits

The second stimulus check did not count as income for SSDI purposes. Social Security did not reduce your monthly SSDI benefit because you received the stimulus payment. This was true for all three stimulus checks distributed during the pandemic.

The stimulus payment also did not affect your Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits if you received those instead of or in addition to SSDI. However, SSI has strict rules about how much money you can have in the bank. If you received SSI and the stimulus check pushed your savings above the resource limit (usually $2,000 for an individual), it could have affected your SSI payment in future months if you did not spend the money down.

SSDI has no resource limit, so the amount of money in your bank account does not affect your benefit. You could keep the entire stimulus check without any impact on your SSDI payment.

Dependents and the second stimulus check

The second stimulus check included $600 for each dependent child under age 17 claimed on a tax return. If you were receiving SSDI and had dependent children, you received $600 for each child in addition to your own $600 payment.

The IRS used tax return information to identify dependents. If you had not filed a 2019 tax return and did not file a 2020 return, the IRS might not have known about your children. In that case, you could claim the dependent portion of the stimulus on your 2020 tax return using the Recovery Rebate Credit.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I get the second stimulus check now if I missed it in 2020?

No, the important date to claim the second stimulus check has passed. You could have claimed it on your 2020 tax return, but that important date was in 2021. The payment is no longer available. The three stimulus checks were one-time payments distributed during the pandemic and are not repeated.

Did the second stimulus check count as income for SSI?

The stimulus check itself did not count as income for SSI purposes. However, SSI counts money in your bank account as a resource. If the stimulus check caused your total savings to exceed $2,000, your SSI payment could be reduced in the following month. SSDI has no such limit.

What if I received the second stimulus check but I was not supposed to?

You did not have to repay the stimulus check. The IRS did not pursue repayment from SSDI or SSI recipients who received the payment in error. If you received it, you could keep it.

Did SSDI recipients get all three stimulus checks?

Most SSDI recipients received all three stimulus checks: the first in spring 2020 ($1,200), the second in late 2020 ($600), and the third in spring 2021 ($1,400). The process was similar for each—automatic payment using information Social Security had on file.