While it is unlikely that the general public will get a fourth stimulus check, an influential, non-partisan group that lobbies on behalf of senior citizens is trying to persuade Congress to send a $1,400 check to Social Security recipients so they can battle inflation.
The Senior Citizens League sent a letter to members of Congress in the House and Senate, urging them to consider a targeted stimulus towards senior citizens.
“We’ve heard from thousands of them [seniors] who have exhausted their retirement savings, who have started eating just one meal a day, started cutting their pills in half because they can’t afford their prescription drugs, to list just a few of the drastic steps so many have had to take because of what inflation has done to them this year,” the letter reads. “Many have written to us that ‘our government has forgotten about us.’”
In 2022, Social Security checks will have one of the largest cost-of-living adjustments in years, with increases of more than 6%.
However, the Senior Citizens League says that will not be enough because the adjustment would bump up some seniors into higher tax brackets.
This could also lead to surcharges for their Medicare Part B premiums, according to Fortune.
The group says a special stimulus for Social Security recipients could offset charges such as healthcare premiums and higher taxes.
For the current year, Social Security benefits only went up 1.3%.
Senior citizens are not the only ones hoping for a fourth stimulus check though.
More than 2.9 million people have signed a Change.org petition “calling on Congress to support families with a $2,000 payment for adults and a $1,000 payment for kids immediately, and continuing regular checks for the duration of the crisis.”
The Biden administration has squashed talks of a fourth stimulus check, however, instead choosing to focus efforts on the enhanced Child Tax Credit and The American Rescue Plan.