A fourth batch of more than 25 million $1,400 stimulus payments has been sent, and this time Social Security beneficiaries received most of the money.
The IRS announced on Wednesday that new stimulus checks totaling more than $36 billion had been issued. Those payments began processing on Friday, April 2, and had an official payment date of April 7.
More than 19 million payments representing more than $26 billion went to Social Security beneficiaries who neither filed 2019 or 2020 tax returns nor used the IRS non-filer tool last year.
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In addition, more than 3 million payments — or more than $5 billion — were issued to Supplemental Security Income beneficiaries.
Approximately 85,000 payments worth more than $119 million went to Railroad Retirement Board beneficiaries.
The new batch also included more than 1 million “plus-up” payments amounting to more than $2 billion for people who are eligible for additional money now that their 2020 tax returns have been processed.
In addition, more than 1 million stimulus checks — approximately $3 billion — were issued to people who recently filed tax returns in order to get their payments because the government did not have them on record.
The IRS plans to start processing payments for Veterans Affairs beneficiaries who do not normally file tax returns this week. The official payment date for those checks that are sent electronically will be April 14.
This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.