As of Tuesday, the Social Security Administration will stop sending paper checks — a move that affects hundreds of thousands of recipients.
SSA recently announced that it would stop sending paper checks Sept. 30.
“This will be devastating for ... the most disadvantaged Americans who receive Social Security and SSI," said Nancy Altman, president of Social Security Works. "They are the only ones who currently have permission to receive paper checks. They were given that permission because they have no other option. They lack the money to open bank accounts, maintain minimum balances, and pay bank fees. They may not have access to the internet. They may lack the mental ability to navigate the world in any way other than getting a paper check and immediately cashing it to pay for their most basic needs, including food and shelter."
While the agency "claims that those who need paper checks will still get them ... like all of the chaotic changes made over the last few months, we are asked to simply trust them," she said. "There is little to no guidance about how to ensure no disruptions, which in virtually every case would be devastating."
Shifting from paper to electronic Social Security checks "may speed up payments and help combat fraud, but it could disadvantage seniors without bank accounts or digital access," agreed Shannon Benton, executive director of the Senior Citizens League, in another message. "More preparation time would have eased the change, helping beneficiaries adapt and avoid stress."
The SSA says it will grant waivers in "extremely rare circumstances" to beneficiaries who cannot manage a bank or payment card account due to mental impairment or living in a remote location, or who were born before May 1, 1921.
"The Trump administration has said that if beneficiaries can prove to this administration's satisfaction that they are incapable of handling electronic payments, those people might get a waiver to continue receiving paper checks," Maria Freese, senior legislative representative at the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, told ThinkAdvisor Tuesday. "It's unclear how quickly these waivers would be processed and whether beneficiaries would continue to successfully receive Social Security payments in the meantime. This policy obviously is very stressful and disconcerting for unbanked people with no online access who are relying on their earned benefit checks for baseline financial security. It's further proof that the Trump administration is totally out of touch with the SSA's customer base."
Meanwhile, if there is a government shutdown on Wednesday, "we don't know how it will affect the termination of paper checks or the consideration of waivers," Freese said.
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