{"id":10443,"date":"2025-07-27T14:41:38","date_gmt":"2025-07-27T18:41:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/?p=10443"},"modified":"2025-07-27T14:45:34","modified_gmt":"2025-07-27T18:45:34","slug":"half-a-million-seniors-impacted-when-social-security-checks-go-paperless-this-fall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/?p=10443","title":{"rendered":"Half a million seniors impacted when Social Security checks go paperless this fall"},"content":{"rendered":"
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For roughly half a million people who still collect their Social Security check from their mailboxes every month, those days are ending.<\/p>\n

Starting Sept. 30, the Social Security Administration (SSA) will no longer issue paper checks for benefit payments. This transition to electronic payments was mandated by President Trump in March.<\/p>\n

Social Security payments for the more than 73 million Americans receiving benefits, including retired workers, disabled workers, survivors of deceased workers, and those receiving Supplemental Security Income, are mostly made electronically these days.<\/p>\n

Mostly, but not entirely.\u00a0Less than 1%\u00a0<\/a>of total recipients, or about 520,000 people, don\u2019t get their check direct deposited into their bank account or prepaid debit card. Social Security is \u201cproactively contacting those beneficiaries to alert them about the change,\u201d an agency spokesperson told Yahoo Finance<\/p>\n

Read on Yahoo Finance<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

People who receive paper checks\u00a0have two options<\/a> for receiving their Social Security payments electronically. They can enroll in direct deposit with their financial institution that allows monthly payments to be deposited into their checking or savings account. For people without a bank account, there\u2019s a prepaid debit card, called Direct Express.<\/p>\n

There are good and bad sides to this mandate, experts say.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn general, it’s a good thing in that it ensures benefits will flow in the case of natural disasters that can interrupt postal delivery,\u201d said Mark Miller, an author and retirement expert.<\/p>\n

Shannon Benton, executive director of the\u00a0Senior Citizens League<\/a>, added that the transition to electronic Social Security payments \u201cimproves security and reduces fraud.\u201d<\/p>\n

The downsides of the change may be felt by the most vulnerable recipients.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is concerning how it may affect vulnerable seniors, especially those without bank accounts or internet access,\u201d Benton said. \u201cThe rollout of this initiative should be a gradual phase-in period with clear communication to ensure no one is left behind. The transition to electronic Social Security payments could pose significant challenges for unbanked individuals, those without internet access, or those who are not computer literate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Six percent of Americans are “unbanked” \u2014 neither they nor their spouse or partner had a checking, savings, or money market account, according to the Federal Reserve’s most recent analysis<\/a>.<\/p>\n

These rates are significant among low-income adults. Roughly a quarter of adults with income below $25,000 were unbanked compared with 1 percent of adults with income of $100,000 or more. Unbanked rates were also higher among younger adults, Black and Hispanic adults, and adults with a disability.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Read more:\u00a0<\/em>When will I get my social security check? This year’s payment schedule.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n