{"id":164193,"date":"2025-09-23T16:27:17","date_gmt":"2025-09-23T16:27:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/164193\/"},"modified":"2025-09-23T16:27:17","modified_gmt":"2025-09-23T16:27:17","slug":"social-security-issues-warning-over-major-change-to-payments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/164193\/","title":{"rendered":"Social Security Issues Warning Over Major Change to Payments"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Social Security Administration<\/a> (SSA) has reminded beneficiaries that paper checks will soon become a thing of the past.<\/p>\n

Starting September 30, the agency will stop issuing benefit payments by mail, requiring beneficiaries to switch to electronic methods.<\/p>\n

In a post on X, formerly Twitter<\/a>, the SSA wrote<\/a>: “Social Security is switching to electronic payments! If you still get paper checks, act now to avoid payment delays. Enroll in direct deposit or Direct Express by Sept. 30.”<\/p>\n

Why It Matters<\/p>\n

The change is part of a broader shift in federal disbursements following an executive order signed by former President Donald Trump<\/a> in March, titled “Modernizing Payments To and From America’s Bank Account.”<\/p>\n

Under the mandate, all federal payments\u2014including Social Security, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), vendor payments, and even tax refunds\u2014must be made electronically after September 30, 2025.<\/p>\n

According to SSA records, 521,644 remittances were still being issued as physical checks as of July.<\/p>\n

That number represents a small fraction of the tens of millions of total beneficiaries<\/a>, but the upcoming deadline will impact those who have not yet made the switch.<\/p>\n

How to Enroll For Digital Payments<\/p>\n

Beneficiaries can choose one of two main methods:<\/p>\n

Direct Deposit: Social Security beneficiaries can set up or manage direct deposit through their my Social Security account. Supplemental Security Income recipients and international beneficiaries can also call 1-800-772-1213 for assistance.Direct Express Card: For those without a bank account, the prepaid debit card option is available. Enrollment can be done by calling 1-800-333-1795 or visiting www.usdirectexpress.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The SSA has said technicians are available to assist with the transition<\/a> and answer questions. To avoid disruption, beneficiaries are encouraged to take action before the September 30 deadline.<\/p>\n

\"Tresury
\nStock image\/file photo: A person holding a check from the United States Treasury.
\nStock image\/file photo: A person holding a check from the United States Treasury.
\nGETTY
\n Why The Change?<\/p>\n

A White House fact sheet accompanying the executive order said physical checks lead to “unnecessary costs; delays; and risks of fraud, lost payments, theft, and inefficiencies.”<\/p>\n

It also said that mail theft complaints “have increased substantially since the COVID-19 pandemic,” and Treasury checks are “16 times more likely to be reported lost or stolen, returned undeliverable, or altered” than electronic payments.<\/p>\n

Maintaining paper check infrastructure cost taxpayers more than $657 million in Fiscal Year 2024 alone, the White House said.<\/p>\n

Are There Exceptions?<\/p>\n

Some recipients will still receive paper checks, but only in limited circumstances.<\/p>\n

“In March 2025, President Trump issued Executive Order 14247, which mandates the transition to electronic payments for all Federal disbursements by September 30, 2025,” an SSA spokesperson told Newsweek.<\/p>\n

“Where a beneficiary has no other means to receive payment, we will continue to issue paper checks.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Social Security Administration (SSA) has reminded beneficiaries that paper checks will soon become a thing of the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":164194,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[2653,45,49,48,28055,133,84989,131,132,1705,2438,84990,23100,84988],"class_list":["post-164193","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-personal-finance","tag-benefits","tag-business","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-executive-order","tag-finance","tag-payment-fraud","tag-personal-finance","tag-personalfinance","tag-retirement","tag-social-security","tag-social-security-overpayments","tag-ssa","tag-the-social-security-administration"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/164193","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=164193"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/164193\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/164194"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=164193"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=164193"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=164193"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}