HARRISBURG, Pa. - The March 1 deadline is approaching for anyone who receives Social Security, SSI payments, or veterans' benefits by mail. To save money, the federal government wants to make all its payments electronically. That means a direct deposit into a bank account, or onto a debit card.
If there's a senior in your life, it's a good time to ask whether that person has let Social Security know how they want to receive their benefits, or to offer to help them with the transition.
And Cristina Martin Firvida with AARP said that, while it's important to get it done, don't worry too much about the deadline.
"If they have not made the switch by March 1, they should not worry. They will continue to receive their benefit," she said. "This is so important to reassure everyone: their benefit will still come in the mail after March 1."
With a debit card, Martin Firvida said, there are a few important questions to ask. Find out about the fees for using the card; whether there's a good network of ATMs so you can get cash when you need it; and whether a debit card is practical for paying bills. All banks and credit unions offer debit cards, and now, she said, the U.S. Treasury has a card, too, just for this purpose.
"You will get one debit card, and it will be reloaded each month," she said. "If you go with the Treasury debit card, they have set up a call center so that you have a way of calling and checking on the balance of your card, so that recipients can have that assurance that the deposit has been made to the card before they go out and use it."
And AARP is warning people that, with any change involving transfers of money, there are always scams that crop up. Martin Firvida said if that you are called or emailed with reminders about the deadline or asked for personal information to help make the switch, hang up or press "delete."
"Don't give that out," she cautioned. "No one from SSA is going to ask you for that kind of information by phone or by email. You should never respond to those kinds of inquiries."
Martin Firvida, who is director of financial security for AARP's Government Affairs Division, said a bank or credit union can help arrange for direct deposits or a debit card account into which benefits can be paid. It can be done online, at GoDirect.org or by calling the Treasury Department at 800-333-1795. AARP also has information about making this transition on its website, at AARP.org.
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The long-delayed Farm Bill could benefit Virginia farmers by renewing funding for climate-smart investments, but it's been held up for months in Congress.
Some lawmakers want this bill to expand funding for such programs as the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, or EQIP, which gives financial and technical help to farmers and ranchers to make conservation a priority. About $250 million was allocated for the program, but more than 9,000 applications were submitted, bringing it to $475 million.
Gabrielle Walton, federal campaign associate with the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, said these programs' popularity proves their necessity.
"This money allows them not only to practice more efficiently - and to preserve the environment that they love so much and they're so attached to - but it also saves them money that they can devote to other concerns," she said, "and provides them stability for their pocketbooks going forward."
One issue with the new Farm Bill is a proposed increase in so-called "reference pricing," which critics have said only benefits large farming operations and would come at the expense of more widely used social and climate-smart programs.
Walton said she thinks political divisiveness and competing priorities have held up the new Farm Bill.
The previous Farm Bill was extended to this September, but lawmakers have said they aim to have a bill ready by Memorial Day. Along with climate-smart investments, the Farm Bill also funds social safety-net programs.
Geoff Horsfield, a policy director at the Environmental Working Group, said people don't always know how helpful nutrition programs are to families.
"There's a misconception that things like SNAP only benefit urban communities," he said, "and we just know that that's not true - that folks in all counties rely on nutrition assistance programs, some of these social programs, to be able to make ends meet."
SNAP and other nutrition programs received 75% of funding in the 2018 Farm Bill. More than 876,000 Virginians use SNAP and EBT benefits, since food insecurity has been a longstanding issue in the state.
Disclosure: Chesapeake Climate Action Network contributes to our fund for reporting on Climate Change/Air Quality, Sustainable Agriculture. If you would like to help support news in the public interest,
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Today, groups working with lower-income families in Connecticut are raising awareness about the state's "benefits cliff" with a day of action.
The benefits cliff is when a person might get a raise, have a kid with a part-time job, or some other income increase which then makes them ineligible for certain benefits. The changes can have severe impacts on communities and disproportionately affect families with children.
Stephen Monroe Tomczak, professor of social work at Southern Connecticut State University, said it is part of a larger workforce problem.
"People, particularly people of low income, are in a sense disincentivized to participate in the labor force and denied adequate jobs and income when they try to do that," Tomczak explained.
Several General Assembly budget bills could have dealt with the issue but most failed, which inspired today's action, a mock funeral procession to the governor's office to eulogize the bills, including the refundable Child Tax Credit, a housing voucher funding boost bill, and a bill eliminating the asset limit on the HUSKY C medical insurance program.
Social service advocates know the bills will resurface in next year's budget process.
Rose Ferraro, program lead of health justice policy advocacy for the Universal Health Care Foundation of Connecticut, said people are taking alternate steps like going to food banks or avoiding medical care to cover lost benefits.
"Folks will lose their rental assistance and then, they will sort of have to make some tough decisions," Ferraro noted. "'Do I put food on my table or do I make sure to pay rent?' And, so it becomes a sort of untenable position."
Ferraro added interwoven state and federal funding makes it hard to reach the core of the issues leading to benefits cliffs. One eulogized bill would have established a benefits cliff pilot program. For two years, it would have provided subsistence for people who've reached the benefits cliff.
Disclosure: The Universal Health Care Foundation of Connecticut contributes to our fund for reporting on Health Issues, Housing/Homelessness, Human Rights/Racial Justice, and Poverty Issues. If you would like to help support news in the public interest,
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New York towns are reaping many benefits since the Inflation Reduction Act was passed.
Along with funds for larger clean energy projects, the state was awarded $158 million for the IRA's Home Energy Rebates program.
Smaller towns and villages use these grants to implement their climate action plans.
Brighton Town Councilmember Robin Wilt said an IRA grant they applied for will help upgrade the town's HVAC system.
"We will be implementing geothermal and then use a solar array to make the system close to net zero, not quite," said Wilt. "I think we'll get 55% of our energy back with the solar panels."
The bureaucratic process to access the funding was challenging, but some groups are working with the Department of Energy to improve it.
Wilt said feedback on the clean energy projects has been positive. Future projects using IRA funding include increasing walkability and sustainable redevelopment.
Critics have said the IRA includes multiple provisions to increase fossil fuel production.
Towns nationwide are using IRA grants to bolster clean energy projects.
Joel Hicks is a council member for the Borough of Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
They've just applied for a grant to work on energy efficiency and solar projects with Harrisburg. He said this will have positive impacts beyond establishing clean energy.
"We were really excited at this potential," said Hicks, "because we saw that the cost savings we would have for putting in substantial solar projects on our public property would actually fund many of our other public municipal goals."
These include purchasing an electric vehicle fleet and having more efficient solid waste programs.
One thing Hicks said he wants to see in future is state and local governments helping small towns and municipalities with putting together their IRA grant proposals.
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