NEW YORK–Demand for the kinds of relief programs credit unions are offering in response to the coronavirus pandemic is likely to only increase with new government data showing a record 6.6-million American workers filed for unemployment on March 28.
The new unemployment data come at the same time a new report indicates the stimulus payments of approximately $1,200 for most Americans won’t begin until April 13 at the earliest and some won’t see the money for at least 20 weeks.
Those unemployment filings numbers this week follow the 3.2 million unemployment claims filed one week earlier. Both were historic highs.
CUToday.info has compiled an extensive list of the kinds of emergency loans, relief offers and other assistance being offered by credit unions here.
CUToday.info has also created an extensive listing of the kinds of resources available to credit unions here. That list is being updated on a regular basis.
Stimulus Checks
Separately, credit union members won’t be arriving at drive-throughs or using their mobile deposit apps for those government stimulus checks until April 13, and it could take up to 20 weeks for all of the payments to be made, according to a new report.
Meanwhile, new details are emerging on the Paycheck Protection Program available through the SBA.
According to a House Democratic memo obtained by CNN, Trump administration officials shared the new timetable for payments to Americans with lawmakers. The timetable is at least one week behind schedule for those who receive their payments first and much further behind schedule for those who are at the tail-end of the process than the schedule originally called for by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who had said checks would begin going out April 6.
The checks, approximately $1,200 for most individuals and $2,400 for couples (plus $500 per child under 17) are part of the $2.2-trillion CARES Act and are designed to help the tens of millions of Americans suddenly out of work due to coronavirus.
60-Million Payments
According to CNN, the IRS will make about 60 million payments, likely in the week of April 13, for taxpayers who provided their direct deposit information through their 2018 or 2019 tax returns, the memo from the House Ways and Means Committee says. Three weeks later, on the week of May 4, the IRS expects to start issuing paper checks to individuals whose bank information isn't already on file, a process that will take much longer, CNN said.
According to the committee memo, the paper checks will be issued at a rate of about five-million per week, and that it could take up to 20 weeks to issue all the checks. Individuals with the lowest income, based on adjusted gross income, will receive their checks first.
The law stipulates that individuals who earn $75,000 or less will receive $1,200, and couples making $150,000 or less will receive twice that amount, with an additional $500 per child. The payments decrease for individuals and couples who make more money, with individuals who make more than $99,000 receiving nothing.
In all, approximately 150-million taxpayers will be eligible for the payments; the IRS estimates it has only direct deposit information on file for about 70-million people.