There is no new Social Security stimulus check in 2026. Congress has not authorized any Economic Impact Payments since the three rounds issued in 2020 and 2021, and the deadlines to claim any missed payments have expired. The only ongoing increase reaching Social Security recipients is the annual cost-of-living adjustment, which raised benefits by 2.8% starting in January 2026.1Social Security Administration. 2026 Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) Fact Sheet
Why There Is Nothing Left to Claim
The three pandemic stimulus payments were structured as tax credits, so the ordinary three-year refund window applied to each of them.2Internal Revenue Service. Time You Can Claim a Credit or Refund The deadline to claim the first and second payments by filing a 2020 tax return was May 17, 2024. The deadline to claim the third payment by filing a 2021 return was April 15, 2025.3Internal Revenue Service. Publication 5486-A – IRS Tips for Claiming the Recovery Rebate Credit Both deadlines have passed. The IRS will not process late Recovery Rebate Credit claims, and there is no separate route for Social Security recipients to recover the money.
Social Security recipients who never filed tax returns were the group most likely to miss the window, because claiming the credit required submitting a Form 1040 or 1040-SR for the relevant year. If that filing did not happen in time, the payment is gone.
Any website, message, or caller in 2026 offering to help you claim a pandemic stimulus payment is not describing something that legally exists.
The 2026 COLA Is the Real Increase
Federal law requires the Social Security Administration to recalculate benefits each year based on inflation, measured by the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers. The agency compares the third quarter of the current year to the third quarter of the prior year, and any increase applies to benefits starting the following January.
For 2026, that adjustment is 2.8%, based on price changes from the third quarter of 2024 to the third quarter of 2025. In dollar terms:
- The average retired worker’s monthly benefit rose from $2,015 to $2,071.
- The average for an aged couple where both spouses receive benefits rose from $3,120 to $3,208.
- The average disabled worker’s payment rose from $1,586 to $1,630.1Social Security Administration. 2026 Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) Fact Sheet
The adjustment is automatic. You do not need to file anything or contact the Social Security Administration. The higher amount appears in January payments for Social Security beneficiaries and in the December 31 payment for SSI recipients.
Watch for Stimulus Check Scams
Millions of people missed the deadline to claim their pandemic payments, and fraudsters know it. Searches for a Social Security stimulus check now turn up fake offers built around that hope. The pattern is consistent: an email, call, text, or social media message claims you qualify for a new payment if you hand over personal information or pay a small fee to release the funds.
The Social Security Administration has said its employees will never threaten arrest for refusing to pay money, claim they need personal information to activate a benefit increase, ask for payment by gift card or cryptocurrency, or pressure you to act immediately.4Social Security Administration. Protect Yourself From Social Security Scams Any contact carrying those signals is fraudulent no matter how official it looks.
The IRS follows a similar pattern. It initiates most contact by mail, not phone. It will never demand immediate payment over the phone, threaten to send police, or ask for credit card numbers. Suspicious contacts claiming to be from the SSA can be reported to the Office of the Inspector General at oig.ssa.gov/report. IRS-related scams go to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at 1-800-366-4484.5U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. Submit a Complaint
How to Confirm What You Already Received
If you want to check what stimulus money was actually paid out to you, the IRS sent a notice after each round: Notice 1444 for the first payment, Notice 1444-B for the second, and Notice 1444-C for the third. If those letters are gone, you can log into your IRS online account at irs.gov to see the exact amounts credited to your record.6Internal Revenue Service. 2020 Recovery Rebate Credit – Topic F: Finding the First and Second Economic Impact Payment Amounts to Calculate the 2020 Recovery Rebate Credit You can also request a tax transcript online or by calling 800-908-9946.
Knowing what you actually received is the fastest way to shut down a scam. If your IRS account shows all three payments were issued in full, anyone offering to get you more money is lying.
A Note on Benefits and Taxes
For anyone still wondering about the older payments: Economic Impact Payments were advance tax credits, not income. They were not included in gross income for federal tax purposes, did not need to be reported on a return, and had no effect on Social Security retirement, disability, or survivor benefit amounts. Receiving one, or not receiving one, changed nothing about your monthly benefit.