A headline in a prominent newspaper had confused Americans about another stimulus check from the federal administration. The headline had stated that US citizens were to receive a stimulus check of $1,657 within 4 days.
The headline further stated that the date of receipt of the stimulus check would be decided by a person’s birthday. The misleading news item trended on google search as people were left confused by this news of another stimulus check.
$1,657 Stimulus Check Only For Disabled And Retired Seniors
The $1,657 stimulus check announced by the federal authorities was only for disabled and retired persons, that is recipients of Social Security benefits, and not the common public.
The fact is mentioned later in the news item, but there is no hint of that fact in the headline. And the stimulus checks for the SS recipients have not been just announced. The recipients would be getting a rise in the cost of living along with their regular benefits.
Social Security stimulus checks are given to people on retirement or when they cannot continue to work due to disability. The retired start receiving benefits from the age of 62.
The benefits are given to SSA and SSI beneficiaries, comprising 70M Americans, and went up 5.9% this year as there has been a surge in living costs. The revised amount of the cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, started in January this year and the payment for most SS recipients works out to an average of $1,657.
The annual increase in COLA is tied to the rise of the consumer price index under the Social Security Act. The CPI is the most commonly used inflation measure and is fixed by the Labor Department.
The COLA benefit protects citizens from losing their already nominal purchasing power even as there is an increase in food and rent costs, and various other expenses. Much of the increase in COLA is consumed by medical premiums, which stand as a deduction from the Social Security relief check for beneficiaries.
