{"id":42972,"date":"2025-07-28T16:07:11","date_gmt":"2025-07-28T16:07:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/42972\/"},"modified":"2025-07-28T16:07:11","modified_gmt":"2025-07-28T16:07:11","slug":"social-security-backs-off-digital-only-payments-will-send-paper-checks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/42972\/","title":{"rendered":"Social Security backs off digital only payments, will send paper checks"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Social Security Administration is backing off a plan that would have eliminated paper checks for benefit payments.<\/a><\/p>\n

The agency had previously announced it would discontinue paper checks starting Sept. 30 as \u201cpart of a broader government-wide initiative to modernize payment systems an enhance service delivery.\u201d The agency\u2019s goal, it said, was to switch all recipients to electronic payments via direct deposit or pre-paid cards.<\/p>\n

However, the agency is now seemingly reversing its hard line, stating that it will continue to issue some paper checks, even as it stresses the advantages of digital payments.<\/p>\n

SSA told CBS MoneyWatch<\/a> it is not ending paper checks for beneficiaries, including those who receive traditional retirement benefits and Supplemental Security Income, if they have no other way to receive payments.<\/p>\n

Senator Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, shared the change in a recent press call <\/a>stated that fewerafter a meeting with SSA Commissioner Frank Bisignano.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are about 600,000 Americans who still receive their paper checks \u2014 it\u2019s a small fraction of people who receive Social Security payments, but it\u2019s a population that often needs checks through paper,\u201d Warner said, adding SSA \u201cmade a commitment that no one will be left behind and that people who have access to paper checks will get access to paper checks.\u201d<\/p>\n

The agency previously stated that fewer than 1% of beneficiaries receive paper checks. The main benefit of changing is cost \u2013 issuing a paper check costs about 50 cents compared to 15 cents for an Electronic Fund Transfer.<\/p>\n

Paper checks are also 16 times more likely to be lost or stolen, SSA said.<\/p>\n

If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement<\/a> and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and\/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Social Security Administration is backing off a plan that would have eliminated paper checks for benefit payments.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":42973,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[28,147,530],"class_list":["post-42972","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-personal-finance","tag-business","tag-personal-finance","tag-personalfinance"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42972","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42972"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42972\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42973"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42972"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42972"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42972"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}