Social Security to drop most paper checks at the end of this month: The Social Security Administration has announced that federal benefit payments, including those from Social Security, will “primarily be issued electronically, with paper checks being phased out in most cases,” starting on September 30.
What You Need to Know: A Big Social Security Change Is Coming
The SSA is reaching out to beneficiaries who still receive paper payments to notify them of the change. In addition, SSA has announced that they are “no longer offering a temporary check option when processing initial claims.”
Beneficiaries are invited to sign up either for direct deposit payments or for a Direct Express Card.
The change results from an executive order from President Donald Trump, issued in March, called Modernizing Payments To and From America’s Bank Account. The order set a September 30, 2025, deadline for the Treasury to “cease issuing paper checks for all Federal disbursements, inclusive of intragovernmental payments, benefits payments, vendor payments, and tax refunds.”
The phase-out was originally meant to be total. But Kiplinger’s reported in July that SSA will continue to use paper checks in “limited circumstances,” and that waivers will be available. However, the agency plans to “continue to drive down paper check volume, which is less than 1% of total, by proactively communicating with beneficiaries about the advantages of enrolling in e-payments and the process for doing so.”
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) had met with Social Security Commissioner Frank Bisignano in June and asked about the change.
Warren stated that the commissioner had “committed that no one will be left behind and that people who have access to paper checks will get access to paper checks,” CBS News said at the time.
The Slow Death of Paper Checks
It’s been a long road toward this change.
The shift from paper checks had first been mandated by a 1996 law, which originally planned to commence the transition to all electronic payments by January 1, 1999. The Treasury issued a “final rule” in 2010 that specifically required Social Security checks to go electronic by 2013. But the changeover has been delayed repeatedly.
There remain some customers, especially older ones, who lack electronic bank accounts, are not computer-savvy, lack mobility, distrust the Internet, or otherwise are unable to use online banking.
Over the years, check fraud has grown, and administrations and Congresses of both parties have sought to finally follow through with the elimination of checks. Electronic payments offer both increased security and more cost-effectiveness for the government.
According to a Washington Post report this week, more than 5 million Americans still receive benefit checks from the government, which is less than 1 percent but still a sizable number of people. Most, the Post said, are seniors, people with disabilities, or immigrants. The Post added that recipients age 90 or older can request an exemption.
“Where a beneficiary has no other means to receive payment, we will continue to issue paper checks,” an SSA spokesperson told the Post.
“Populations that may be more challenged by having to change the way they receive their federal benefits,” Jennifer Tescher, founder of the nonprofit Financial Health Network, told the newspaper.
Advice for Seniors
The National Chrysler Retirement Organization wrote in July about how these changes might affect retirees.
“For many aging Americans—especially those who are not tech-savvy or who lack easy access to banking—this monthly ritual [of picking up a check from the mailbox] has been a cornerstone of financial stability. But now, that system is changing,” the article says. Recipients are advised to have family members assist them.
The NCRO also noted that it’s important that Social Security recipients are aware of common scams, and that they know Social Security will never contact them via text.
About the Author: Stephen Silver
Stephen Silver is an award-winning journalist, essayist, and film critic, and contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review, and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. For over a decade, Stephen has authored thousands of articles that focus on politics, national security, technology, and the economy. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @StephenSilver, and subscribe to his Substack newsletter.
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