Policy Spotlight: What the Stimulus Means for Unemployment, Food Stamps, and Evictions

The fourth federal COVID stimulus package signed into law on Dec. 27, 2020 provides resources to people and businesses including another round of stimulus checks, enhanced unemployment insurance and extension of the Paycheck Protection Program to name a few.

In this post we focus on three key items for low- and moderate-income workers included in the $900 billion bill: unemployment, food stamps, and the eviction moratorium.

A future post will explore resources for small businesses. In the meantime, if you’re one of the millions of Americans who have been financially impacted by this pandemic and you’re wondering how the stimulus bill affects you and whether you now qualify for benefits, email us at questions@mytrustplus.org or talk to a TrustPlus personal finance coach for free.

The Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021 provides roughly $120 billion for unemployment relief measures including:

• Providing $300 per week in federal supplement to unemployment through March 14, 2021;
• Extending pandemic unemployment assistance and pandemic emergency unemployment to March 14, 2021 with a phase-out extending to April 5, 2021;
• Extending the number of weeks of eligibility.

Payments will last until mid- March as will extended state unemployment benefits (for a maximum of 50 weeks). A new $100 benefit is available to those who receive traditional wage income, with a W-2 form, and are also self-employed or a gig worker, with a 1099 form.

Take action today. Apply as early as possible and prepare to be relentless in follow-up. We hope for the best as far as the process smoothing out. If you are already receiving benefits then continue to recertify. Talk to a TrustPlus personal finance coach about expenses and savings to prioritize with extended state unemployment and the federal boost of $300 per week.

The new stimulus bill earmarked millions of dollars to support food banks, senior meals on wheels, school lunch programs, and food stamps (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) at a time when as many as 50 million people nationwide are experiencing food insecurity. A few items of note:

• Food stamps benefits will increase by 15% for 6 months from January 2021 to June 2021.
• The Pandemic-EBT program created during the health crisis to provide food to families who lost access to free or reduced-price school meals has been expanded to children younger than 6 years old through September 2021.
• There is increased flexibility with eligibility requirements for food stamps and other programs (for example, the $300 a week federal boost in the new bill will not count towards the applicant’s income). See if you’re eligible.

The relief package includes $25 billion in emergency rental assistance and extends the eviction moratorium until Jan 31, 2020. Tenants will need to provide their landlord with this declaration form.

Without further federal intervention as many as 40 million people could be displaced once the eviction moratorium ends. As Diane Yentel, CEO and president of the National Low Income Housing Coalition, told USA Today: “We’re facing potentially the worst housing and homelessness crisis in our country’s history.” “The least the federal government can do during a once-in-a-century pandemic is assure each of us that we’re not going to lose our homes in the middle of it.”

If you’re struggling to keep up with housing payments, contact a local legal service provider or a housing counselor to understand your rights as a tenant or homeowner. You can also talk to a TrustPlus personal finance coach to make a plan.

TrustPlus offers personal finance coaching services for free to small businesses and their workers. Find out how you can bring TrustPlus to your business or sign up to speak with a coach today.