Farewell to paper checks
Social Security payments all electronic bymarch 1
If you still get a Social Security check by mail, that’s about to change.
In fact, the Social Security Administration is urging recipients to switch over now to direct deposit or get their monthly payment sent to a Direct Express debit card account.
By March 1, with few exceptions, those getting paper checks from Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, Veterans Affairs, Railroad Retirement Board, Office of Personnel Management benefits and other non- tax payments will have to get electronic payments.
The Florida Department of Elder Affairs
is trying to get the word out now to avoid confusion, said Ashley L. Marshall, the agency’s director of communications.
Some seniors may resist the change although Marshall said she has not heard of any complaints yet.
More than 90 percent of people getting Social Security benefits already receive electronic payments, according to the feds.
Still, tens of thousands of retirees in South Florida are getting paper checks, estimated Edith S. Lederberg, executive director of theAging and Disability Resource Center of Broward County.
Statewide, more than 2.8 million Floridians, 65 and above, were on Social Security in 2011, according to the AARP. That would mean about 280,000 mail.
“The problem is a lot of them don’t have bank accounts,” Lederberg said. “This concerns me very much. They can’t afford the fees that banks have now. This impacts the very poor elderly the most.”
If a recipient doesn’t a bank account, they can enroll in the Direct Express DebitCard, said Social Security spokeswoman Kia Green Anderson.
“It is an alternative they can use to access their benefits,” Anderson said. “They do not need a bank account.”
The Direct Express Debit Card has no monthly fees, she added, referring people towww. USDirectExpress. com.
A Palm Beach senior signed up for the debit card and found that he is better off having his monthly check sent there, said Patrice Schroeder of 211 Palm Beach/ Treasure Coast, a social service hot line.
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“It’s a lot safer— a lot of checkswere being stolen in mailboxes,” she said.
Seniors can also open an Electronic TransferAccount ( ETA), Social Security spokeswoman Anderson said. “This account costs no more than $ 3 per month, and they get at least four free cash withdrawals per month,” Anderson wrote in an email.
But she also stressed that many banks, credit unions and savings and loans offer accounts with little or no fees.
“In certain circumstances, a person can apply for a waiver of electronic payment with the Department of Treasury,” Anderson said. “Treasury will determine if the person is eligible for an exemption.”
Formore informationgotowww. godirect. org or call 1- 800- 333- 1795.