Thousand of Rhode Islanders haven’t claimed stimulus checks
Source: Pawtucket Times
October 13, 2008
Woonsocket - Nearly 8.000 Rhode Islanders-about 400 of them in Pawtucket and another 1,000 in Woonsocket- who are eligible for the economic stimulus checks the federal government sent out earlier this year have not claimed the money, either $300 or $600, depending on your income.
The deadline for doing so is Wednesday; if an individual has not made a claim by then, the money will be lost.
In many cases, those who haven't filled are elderly or disabled veterans.
As part of the push to get people to apply for the rebates to which they are entitled, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse visited the Woonsocket Senior Center Thursday, IRS officials in tow, to show seniors who have not put in for rebate how to do so.
A similar event is scheduled - this time without the senatorial star power, just the IRS bureaucrats - today at the Leon Mathieu Center in Pawtucket from 10:30am to 2:30pm.
The tax-free rebates were sent automatically to eligible Americans who filed a federal income tax return for 2007. However, many Social Security and VA beneficiaries do not normally file a tax return, and so they must file separate paperwork this year to receive a rebate. That is why seniors and veterans are the focus of the last-minute blitz.
In Woonsocket Thursday, Whitehouse noted that "in Rhode Island, there is over $5 million on the table in these checks that people haven't picked up. That could do a lot of people a lot of good."
Meg Chevalier, an IRS representative explained that to be eligible, people must have had $3,000 in "qualified income" to be eligible for a stimulus check. Social Security and Social Security disability payments are qualified income (but Supplemental Security Income, or SSI, is not) as are veteran's benefits, she said, urging the assembled seniors to "please advise your friends that the federal government has $300 for you."
The downside: the checks take 14 to 16 weeks to process, Chevalier said.
Some seniors were originally disqualified, Whitehouse said after the event, because when they filled out the paperwork they put in the amount they receive from Social Security monthly, rather than the annual amount - "they underreported their own income, so they have to refile. "But I think the bulk of it is people who forgot, weren't sure they were eligible, people have a lot on their minds, so the purpose of all this is to give one last reminder before October 15 comes.
"A lot of people have that $3,000 Social Security income, "Whitehouse said, "for the life of me, I can't understand why the Social Security Administration and IRS don't talk to each other and exchange the names so it just gets done.
"But in the meantime, the clock is running out, so I have gone public with this along with the rest of the (RI Congressional) delegation to try to make sure we don't leave that $5 million, which could help Rhode Island seniors a lot, sitting on the table."
In a press release, Congressman Patrick Kennedy said: "Many seniors and families are already struggling to make ends meet, and winter months will bring the additional challenge of paying for home heating costs which are expected to be even higher this winter.
For those on fixed incomes such as veterans receiving disability benefits or retirees relying on Social Security benefits, $300 can certainly help those who need it most right now."
Chevalier said the IRS estimates that about 4 million people haven't filed for the payment. At the low amount of $300 each that amounts to 1.2 billion.
If you want to apply for the rebate but can not make it to the Leon Mathieu center today you can do one or more of the following: Visit ww.irs.gov to download copies of the form or for more information.
Go to the IRS's local offices at 380 Westminster Street, Providence (401) 525-4282 or 60 Quaker Lane, Warwick (401) 826-4797, to get paper work and preparation assistance (no appointment needed). The offices are open from 8:30am- 4:30pm, Monday through Friday.
Or call 2-1-1(the United Way's information service), AARP's Rhode Island office at 1-866-542-8170 (toll-free), or your local senior center for more information.