Fourth stimulus news summary: 14 November 2021
US stimulus checks, Child Tax Credit and Social Security: latest news
Headlines
- Over 4m workers left their jobs in September, according to study
- Nearly 1mGolden State stimulus checksgo out in the latest batch
- Unemployment rate in the United States drops for a sixth straight week
- Low-earning American households are missing out on the Child Tax Credit
- Ongoing calls for a fourth stimulus check beforeDecember
- Senior Citizens League among those urging Congress to approve new direct payment
Useful information & Links
Child Tax Credit
-Next batch of monthly Child Tax Credit payments is scheduled to be distributed on Monday15 November
- Non-filers have until 15 November to register for the CTC
Stimulus checks
- Could a fourth stimulus check happen in November 2021?
Medicare
-Open enrollment continues through 7 December
- Medicare Part C and D premiums for 2022 confirmed
- Opting out of Medicare at the age of 65 can come at a major cost
Social Security
- What will be the monthly amount for Social Security disability?
- At what age is Social Security no longer taxed in the US?
- 2022 COLA for Veteran benefits announced
How much were the first, second and third stimulus checks and when were they sent out?
There have been three federal stimulus checks in the US since the covid-19 pandemic hit in early 2020.
What is the COLA 2022 increase for veterans?
Last month the Social Security Administration (SSA) announced an historic increase for beneficiaries, reflecting the damaging effects that covid-19 has had on the economy.
Each year the SSA implements a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), which is designed to increase benefits in line with inflation. Benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs are also covered by this, but how much will the increase be worth?
Child Tax Credit deadline approaches
Anyone who has not yet received payments from the expanded Child Tax Credit has until the end of Monday, 15 November to register. Most families will have received the money automatically but households not required to submit a tax return will have to provide their information separately.
How many people quit their jobs in September and why?
The October jobs report showed that the US jobs market is showing signs of strong growth after stagnating slightly over summer, but in recent months a significant number of people have opted to voluntarily leave the workplace.
This spring, more than twenty states cut federal unemployment benefits early as many argued that they were keeping people from reentering the workforce. This new data shows that many not have been the case given the fact that after the benefits ended, millions quit their jobs looking for new opportunities.
Rep. Omar outlines the need for Build Back Better package
In the long-awaited House vote on the bipartisan infrastructure bill last week, Rep. Ilhan Omar voted 'no' because the Senate had not yet approved the remainder of President Biden's Build Back Better legislative agenda. In a press release, Omar wrote:
“From the beginning, I have been clear that I would not be able to support the infrastructure bill without a vote on the Build Back Better Act. Passing the infrastructure bill without passing the Build Back Better Act first risks leaving behind childcare, paid leave, health care, climate action, housing, education, and a roadmap to citizenship."
Claim your CHild Tax Credit payments before the 15 November deadline
Families who are yet to receive the monthly direct payments fromthe expanded Child Tax Credit have until 15 November to do so, or they will have to wait until they file their 2022 taxes to get the money. Since July the IRS has been sending out monthly payments worth up to $300 per child but some low-income families would have had to use the Get CTC online tool to trigger payment.
"The Build Back Better Act will provide 39 million households up to $3,600, or $300 per month, in tax cuts per child by extending the American Rescue Plan’s expanded Child Tax Credit."
"This historic tax cut will help cover the cost of food, housing, health care, and transportation and will continue the largest one-year reduction in child poverty in history."
Do you need to pay taxes on your social security benefits?
The Social Security Administration projects that through 2050, the percent of beneficiaries required to pay income tax is expected to increase to 56% between 2025 and 2050.
No Social Security beneficiary will ever have to pay more than 85% of their benefits in taxes. Those who do end up paying taxes usually are required to do so because they are earning an income from other sources.
Often those who pay tax on Social Security payments do so because of other income sources, typically "wages, self-employment, interest, dividends and other taxable income that must be reported on your tax return."
Calls for Social Security 2100 bill to be passed
Last month the Social Security Administration confirmed a historic 5.9% rise in the annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) alteration. The significant increase is the largest in nearly 40 years, but there is concern that the funds which cover the cost of the programmes could become insolvent in 13 years if the structure is not changed.
That is the purpose of the Social Security 2100 Act, recently reintorduced by Congressman John B. Larsonhead of of the Ways & Means Subcommittee on Social Security. The proposal would extend the current life of the programmes to give Congress the chance to find a more long-term solution.
Goldman Sachs predicts further unemployment fall in 2022
Financial analysts from investment bank Goldman Sachs have released their economic outlook report for 2022, predicting that the US economy will continue its recovery into the new year. The crucial detail for many Americans will be the expected fall of the unemployment rate, which has dropped in each of the past six weeks.
How much is the Work Opportunity tax credit?
According to the Department of Labor website, the Work Opportunity Tax Credit is "a federal tax credit available to employers who invest in American jobseekers who have consistently faced barriers to employment. Employers may meet their business needs and claim a tax credit if they hire an individual who is in a WOTC targeted group."
The credit amount for WOTC can be up to $9,600 for each qualified new hire, depending upon the new hires' WOTC target group. The credit is equal to a percentage of the eligible employee’s wages, and the employee must work at least 120 hours for the employer to receive credit. Veterans receive the highest amount, while other targeted groups receive less.
Biden lauds infrastructure bill as signing expected tomorrow
President Biden has been speaking to the press ahead of the signing of the infrastructure bill, which is expected on Monday.
The Biden administration is racing to implement parts of the infrastructure bill as quickly as it can, hoping it can turn the legislation into jobs as it tries to make the case for the White House’s leadership on the economy.
President Biden has seen his approval ratings falter amid rising gas and food prices, and frustrations over goods shortages. On Wednesday, inflation hit its highest annual rate in 30 years.
Despite no fourth stimulus check, which states are still giving money?
Some states are continuing with payments for those in and out of work this year. There has already been three proper stimulus checks sent out in the 18 months, and only really California can afford to keep up a similar plan.
These are not all stimulus checks in the way the previous three were, but represent payments sent by state governments to its citizens. Many of them are related to the resumption of in-school teaching, or they are extra support for people rejoining the workforce.
Consumption, inflation, and the US economy
Bloomberg opinion have posted an article describing how Americans may need to change their lifestyles in a post covid-19 world.
"In short, with higher prices, a more eco-conscious population and less trade bringing fewer cheap products, Americans may have to get used to consuming like Europeans. We will certainly not be deprived, but we will trim back our excesses, perhaps be more thoughtful about what we buy and purchase fewer, higher-quality goods."
So what does the article mean by European-style consumption?
For example, US consumption per capita grew about 65% from 1990 to 2015, compared with about 35% growth in Europe. Household consumption makes up only about 50% of GDP in Germany. Household consumption is basically purchasing products, from TVs to miniature models. Another example listed in the article is that clothing purchases have increased five-fold since 1980 and the average garment will only be worn seven times before it's disposed of.
The main argument of the article is that people in the US should prepare to buy less in order to keep the ecology of the world safe, while also adapting to changing patterns of trade and supply.
COLA 2022: What will be the monthly amount for Social Security disability?
Following all the damage that the pandemic has done to the US economy, the Social Security Administration (SSA) have officially confirmed that there is going to be a record-breaking Cost-Of-Living Adjustment (COLA) coming into effect next year as of January 2022.
Therefore, it is estimated that around 70 million people, who will receive benefits in 2022, will see their monthly aid increased by a 5.9 percent boost. This increase is the biggest year-on-year COLA since 1982, only coming close in 2009 with an adjustment of 5.8.
Inflation bites as gas prises continue to rise
Gas prices across the US have dipped in recent weeks but remain more than $1 higher compared to this time last year. The national average for a gallon of gas on Friday was $3.41, down a penny from last week but up from the $2.12 average at this time last year, The Associated Press reported.
The Consumer Price Index increased 0.9 percent in October after rising 0.4 percent in September, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Over the last 12 months, the index increased 6.2 percent before seasonal adjustment, marking the highest rate of inflation in the country since 1990.
Biden pushes Build Back Better to address unemployment deficit
The Labor Department's jobs report for October far exceeded the predictions and the White House has been quick to link the drop in unemployment to the economic legislation introduced in the first nine months of th Biden administration. However President Biden faces a bigger battle now, trying to convince moderate Democrats in the Senate that his $1.75 trillion Build Back Better package would provde the additional impetus required.
At what age do Social Security payments stop?
There are several programmes on offer from the Social Security Administration aimed at supporting retired and disabled workers and their families.
What is the work opportunity tax credit?
The federal credit is available to employers who support Americans who have been repeatedly blocked from employment.
Which workers can still get unemployment benefits after quitting their jobs? Exceptions and cases
In September, 4.4 million US workers, almost 3 percent of the entire American workforce, voluntarily left their positions, the highest number since the Bureau of Labor Statistics began tracking “quits” in 2020. The quits rate, the number of quits during the month as a percent of total employment, also jumped to 3%, another all-time high. This is after a previous record set in August of 4.3 million resignations. While this shows the lack of faith workers have in their current jobs, it also precludes many from unemployment benefits. For most occupations in the US, voluntary unemployment means there is no entitlement to unemployment benefits.
How many people quit their jobs in September and why?
In September, the same month federal pandemic-related unemployment benefits ended, 4.4 million people quit their jobs. This comes after 4.3 million left their jobs voluntarily in August.
This spring, more than twenty states cut federal unemployment benefits early as many argued that they were keeping people from reentering the workforce. This new data shows that may not have been the case given the fact that after the benefits ended, millions quit their jobs looking for new opportunities.
$1400 fourth stimulus check: why the Senior Citizens League is pushing for it
As seniors struggle to make ends meet as prices increase rapidly, the Senior Citizens League has called on Congress to send a $1,400 stimulus check.
Can a fourth stimulus check payment happen before December 2021?
After coming down from its peak in December 2020 the share of households encountering hardship ticked up again in May as the impact of the third round of federal stimulus checks wore off. Still, nearly 30 percent of American adults still had trouble paying usual household expenses as of early October as the harm to the economy and livelihoods from the covid-19 pandemic continues.
Much of this hardship was prevented by the passage of three previous stimulus checks, and there still remains faint hope for another before the end of the year.
US stimulus checks live updates: welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live blog for Sunday 14 November, bringing you the latest news on a possible fourth stimulus check in the US, as well as updates on unemployment, Social Security payments and the Child Tax Credit.