SSDI recipients automatically received stimulus payments without having to take additional action
If you were receiving Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) when the federal government issued stimulus payments during the COVID-19 pandemic, you did not need to file a tax return or contact the Social Security Administration to receive the money. The payments went directly to the bank account or address on file with Social Security, using the same method Social Security used to send your regular monthly benefit.
Three rounds of stimulus payments were issued between March 2020 and March 2021. The first two rounds went to most SSDI recipients automatically. The third round required you to have filed a 2020 tax return or to have been in the Social Security system by a specific date, but most SSDI recipients still received it without taking action.
The payments were separate from your SSDI benefit and did not reduce your monthly check. They also did not count as income for purposes of the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) resource limit, though there were specific rules about how long you could hold the money before it affected your SSI status.
Key Takeaways
- SSDI recipients received three rounds of stimulus payments automatically between March 2020 and March 2021 without filing paperwork or contacting Social Security.
- The first payment was $1,200 per person, the second was $600, and the third was $1,400, though amounts varied based on income and dependent status.
- Stimulus payments did not reduce your monthly SSDI benefit and were not counted as income for SSDI purposes.
- If you did not receive a payment you believe you were owed, you could claim it on your 2020 or 2021 tax return using the Recovery Rebate Credit.
The three rounds of stimulus payments and who received them
The first stimulus payment, authorized under the CARES Act in March 2020, sent $1,200 to most adults and $500 per child dependent. Social Security automatically sent this to SSDI recipients using their payment method on file. You did not need to do anything to receive it.
The second payment, issued in December 2020, was $600 per person and $600 per child. Again, Social Security sent this automatically to SSDI recipients without requiring any action on your part.
The third payment, issued starting in March 2021, was $1,400 per person and $1,400 per child. This round had stricter income limits, and Social Security used your 2019 tax return to determine whether you may have access to. Most SSDI recipients fell within the income limits and received the payment automatically. If you had not filed a 2019 tax return but were in the Social Security system by a certain date, you still received the payment.
How the payments were delivered
Social Security sent stimulus payments the same way it sends your monthly SSDI benefit. If you receive direct deposit, the payment went to your bank account. If you receive a paper check, you received a check in the mail. If you receive a debit card (the Direct Express card), the payment was loaded onto that card.
The payments arrived in waves over several weeks, so you may not have received yours on the same day as other SSDI recipients. The Social Security Administration published schedules showing when different groups would receive each payment, based on the last two digits of your Social Security number.
You did not receive a separate notice telling you the payment was coming. The money straightforward appeared in your account or arrived in the mail. If you were unsure whether you had received a payment, you could check your Social Security account online or call Social Security to ask.
What happened if you did not receive a stimulus payment
If you were receiving SSDI during the payment periods but did not receive one or more of the stimulus payments, you could claim the money you were owed using the Recovery Rebate Credit on your federal tax return. This applied to the 2020 tax year (for the first two payments) and the 2021 tax year (for the third payment).
To claim the Recovery Rebate Credit, you filed a tax return for that year even if you normally did not file one. You reported the stimulus payments you should have received, and the IRS calculated the credit you were owed. The credit reduced your tax liability or increased your refund.
Some SSDI recipients did not receive payments because Social Security did not have their current bank account information or mailing address. If your address or payment method changed after you started receiving SSDI, Social Security may not have had the updated information. Updating your information with Social Security for future years would have prevented this problem going forward.
Stimulus payments and SSI resource limits
If you were receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) in addition to SSDI, or if you were receiving SSI instead of SSDI, the stimulus payments had special rules. The federal government temporarily excluded stimulus payments from the SSI resource limit, meaning the money did not count against the $2,000 individual limit or $3,000 couple limit.
However, this exclusion was temporary. After a set period—usually 12 months from when you received the payment—the money would count toward your resource limit if you still had it. If your resources exceeded the limit at that point, your SSI benefit would stop until your resources fell back below the limit.
Many SSI recipients used the stimulus payments for necessary expenses during this period, which meant the resource limit issue did not arise. If you kept the money and your resources exceeded the limit after the exclusion period ended, you would need to spend down your resources or report the change to Social Security.
Stimulus payments and your SSDI benefit amount
Stimulus payments did not reduce your monthly SSDI benefit. Your SSDI check remained the same whether or not you received stimulus money. This was different from some other government benefits, where receiving additional income can lower your monthly payment.
SSDI has no income limit for continuing to receive benefits, so receiving stimulus payments did not affect your may be able to access. The only situation where stimulus money could have affected your SSDI was if you were also receiving SSI and the money pushed your resources over the limit, which would have affected your SSI portion, not your SSDI portion.
If you received stimulus money by mistake
Very few SSDI recipients received stimulus payments by mistake, because Social Security's records were generally accurate about who was receiving benefits. However, if you received a payment and later learned you should not have—for example, if you had died before the payment was issued but Social Security had not yet updated its records—you could return the money.
Returning stimulus money was not automatic. You would need to contact Social Security or the IRS to report the error and arrange to return the funds. Most people who received stimulus payments were may have access to to them, so this situation was uncommon.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did I have to report stimulus money to Social Security?
No. Stimulus payments were federal relief funds, not income from work or other sources that you report to Social Security. You did not need to contact Social Security or file any paperwork related to the stimulus payments. If you received SSI, the temporary resource exclusion meant the money did not count against your limit without reporting it.
What if I was not receiving SSDI when the stimulus was issued but started receiving it later?
If you were not in the Social Security system when a stimulus payment was issued, you did not receive that payment automatically. You could claim it on your tax return using the Recovery Rebate Credit if you filed taxes for that year. The IRS would calculate what you were owed based on your income and dependent status.
Can I still claim stimulus money I did not receive?
Yes, but only if you file a tax return for the year the payment was issued. You use the Recovery Rebate Credit to claim the money. However, there are time limits for claiming credits on tax returns, so you should file as soon as you realize you did not receive a payment. A tax professional or the IRS can help you determine whether you can still claim it.
Did stimulus payments affect my ability to work while on SSDI?
No. Stimulus payments did not count as earnings or work income, so they did not affect your work incentives or your ability to test your work capacity under SSDI's trial work period or extended may be able to access rules. You could receive stimulus money and continue working without any impact on your benefits.
What if I lost my stimulus payment or it was stolen?
If your stimulus check was lost or stolen, you could report it to the IRS or Social Security and request a replacement. If the payment was direct deposited and your account was compromised, you would need to work with your bank to recover the funds or report fraud. Contacting the IRS or Social Security as soon as you discovered the problem gave you the best chance of resolving it.