Congresswoman Heather Wilson, First Congressional District of New Mexico
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| Social Security Benefits Now Available On Debit Card |
June 10, 2008 |
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Monthly benefits will be transferred electronically to personal debit cards
Washington, D.C. – The Treasury Department announced today that Social Security benefits will now be able to be electronically transferred each month to electronic debit cards for those without bank accounts. The debit card will begin to replace the monthly checks that nearly 10.5 million people still receive.
Currently, most recipients receive their monthly benefits by way of direct deposit into their bank accounts. However, there are approximately 2.1 million Social Security recipients and an additional 1.8 million disabled and low-income people who receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) without bank accounts.
“For those Social Security and Supplemental Security Income recipients without a bank account, this new debit card is a great alternative to paper checks,” Wilson said. “It’s a safer way for lower income individuals, senior citizens, and the disabled to receive their money each month. Recipients will no longer have to wait for the check and worry about getting to a bank to get their money.”
The change would save recipients from increasingly expensive check-cashing charges, and reduce the cost of printing and mailing checks by $42 million a year. Transitioning from paper checks to debit cards will also reduce the likelihood of fraud and theft of checks.
To sign up, recipients can look for an insert in their Social Security check between now and October, call the Direct Express toll-free line at (877) 212-9991, or go online to https://www.usdirectexpress.com.
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