Fourth Stimulus Check Update: New Direct Payment Necessary For Group With Unprecedented Pressure

Many Americans have made it clear that they would find another stimulus check beneficial when it comes to how the money helps them navigate their lives following the COVID-19 Pandemic. However, a new petition asking for payments has fully singled out one specific segment of the population, detailing that another $1,400 check would be most beneficial to them as inflation continues to cause prices to soar.

A petition by the Senior Citizens League calls for a $1,400 stimulus check to Social Security recipients, arguing that soaring inflation is taking a toll on those with fixed incomes, such as those who receive Social Security benefits. In it, those who wish to sign are requesting that the money be sent because inflation prices have made a rise in the average benefit still feel almost non-existent.

The petition states that Social Security benefits increased by only 1.3% in 2021—about $20 a month. However, 86% of recipients said their expenses had increased by significantly more than that amount.

Yahoo! Finance states that a 5% inflation surge over the past 13 months in several sectors has led to an increase in expenses for all, but that social security recipients on a tight fixed income are particularly feeling the pinch. The meat industry, which has seen one of the greatest price increases, with chicken prices increasing about 7.2%, pork 9% and ground beef 13% over last year, it’s a big issue.

This comes after 25% of low-income seniors reporting food insecurity as a concern.

The request for checks also comes as Social Security recipients are expected to receive a 6% increase in benefits in 2022, but continued rising costs are still eating away at those benefits.

Senior Citizens aren’t the only ones who have been feeling the pinch of inflation and felt that another round of stimulus checks would help alleviate the pressure of the increased costs of living that inflation has produced. In fact, studies have shown that the financial beneficial impact from the stimulus checks greatly reduced financial instability for many. Data from a September report from the U.S. Census Bureau found that stimulus checks caused the supplemental poverty rate to decline from 11.8% to 9.1%.

Studies from earlier in the year also found that the $2,000 combined benefit from the second and third stimulus checks decreased financial instability by 43% and led to a 42% decrease in household food shortages as well.