People who are engaged in retirement planning are invariably going to want to keep abreast of changes to the Social Security program, and with this in mind we like to pass along new information as it becomes available.
The cost of the Social Security program has been a topic of conversation among lawmakers of late. Any savings that could be realized in a manner that is not controversial would be welcomed by all concerned. With this in mind we would like to pass along the news about a change that is going to take place in the beginning of March of next year.
At that time the Social Security Administration will discontinue the practice of sending out paper checks each month to benefit recipients. The alternative would be to either have your monthly payout deposited into your bank or credit union account or agree to an arrangement that would pre-load a Direct Express Debit MasterCard each month.
There are upwards of a couple of hundred thousand new applicants for Social Security every month and this volume of applications is expected to continue for the next two decades. As the number of people receiving Social Security grows the costs associated with administering the program are obviously going to rise as well.
The practice of mailing out paper checks is extremely costly when you take into consideration just how many people are receiving them. This is true even though nine out of 10 people at are currently being paid electronically.
It is estimated that some $1 billion will be saved over the next decade by going paperless. In addition to regular Social Security checks this move is also going to apply to Supplemental Security Income payments, Railroad Retirement Board benefits, Veterans Affairs payments, and payments made by the Office of Personnel Management.
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