FILE - In this photo illustration, a Social Security card sits alongside checks from the U.S. Treasury on Oct. 14, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Photo illustration by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON -
The Social Security Administration (SSA) will stop issuing paper checks at the end of this month.
The change will impact hundreds of thousands of beneficiaries across the United States.
Why is this happening?
The shift comes after President Donald Trump issued an executive order in March mandating all federal payments be made electronically beginning Sept. 30.
Dig deeper:
Payments will eventually be sent via direct deposit and credit cards.
Paper-based payments are more costly and vulnerable to fraud, theft, errors and delays, according to the White House.
What they're saying:
"Less than one percent of Social Security Administration beneficiaries currently receive paper checks," an SSA spokesperson told FOX Business in an email. "… Where a beneficiary has no other means to receive payment, we will continue to issue paper checks."
By the numbers:
As of September, more than 68 million Americans across all 50 U.S. states and territories receive Social Security benefits. Of that number, around 390,000 people, or about 0.6%, are receiving check payments, according to data from the SSA.
SSA is contacting beneficiaries
The SSA is actively contacting those beneficiaries to notify them of the change as well as the process to shift to electronic payments before Sept. 30, the spokesperson told FOX Business.
Some exceptions will be made, including in emergency situations and for those without access to digital payment systems or banks, according to the White House.
What you can do:
To update payment information, Social Security recipients can find more information on the SSA's website.
The Source: Information for this article was taken from previous reporting by FOX Business and information from the Social Security Administration's website.