Almost 400,000 Americans still get Social Security checks. That's going away everywhere (except where it isn't) | Fortune

"The U.S. government starts phasing out paper checks for most programs on Tuesday. The change, which was initiated through an executive order signed by President Donald Trump in March, will affect recipients of benefits including Social Security, Supplemental Security Income and tax refunds. Trump's Republican administration argues the shift of all payments and collections to electronic methods is designed to protect taxpayers from fraud and stolen checks, speed up processing and cut costs."

"But advocates fear that the shift will hurt marginalized Americans who lack access to digital services and may not even know this phase-out is coming. "A lot of claimants move around and don't always get their mail," says Jennifer Burdick, a divisional supervising attorney in the SSI Unit at Community Legal Services in Philadelphia. "And the folks that I represent who get paper checks mostly learned from me about this transition.""

"Roughly 10% of Burdick's clients receive paper checks. She worries that new recipients who need a paper check to open a checking account at a bank will find it difficult or even nearly impossible to get that done after the phase-out. Nearly 400,000 Social Security and SSI recipients receive their benefits through paper checks. That amounts to less than 1% of the 70.6 million retirees, disabled people and children who receive Social Security benefits."

An executive order initiated the phase-out of paper checks for most U.S. government benefit programs, including Social Security, Supplemental Security Income and tax refunds. The administration says shifting payments and collections to electronic methods will reduce fraud, speed processing and cut costs. Advocates warn the change could harm marginalized Americans who lack access to digital services or stable mailing addresses and who may not learn of the transition. Approximately 400,000 Social Security and SSI recipients currently receive paper checks, under 1% of the 70.6 million beneficiaries. The SSA will issue paper checks only when no other option exists.

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