The short answer
Federal benefit payments are now electronic. Under an executive order signed in March 2025, Treasury stopped issuing most paper checks on September 30, 2025, and Social Security and SSI benefits are paid in one of two ways: by direct deposit to a bank or credit union account, or onto a Direct Express prepaid debit card for people without an account. Paper checks continue only in rare cases where an exception is granted. To switch, use your my Social Security account, call 1-800-772-1213, or visit a local Social Security office; SSI recipients must call or visit. Have your routing and account numbers ready, keep the old arrangement in place until the first deposit arrives, and never give bank details to someone who contacts you. State benefits such as unemployment, SNAP and TANF follow their own state rules.
What changed, and when?
An executive order signed in March 2025 directed federal agencies to move to electronic payments, and Treasury stopped issuing paper checks for most federal payments on September 30, 2025. Social Security says federal law now requires Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits to be paid electronically. The change reaches other federal payments too, including veterans' benefits, federal retirement and most individual tax refunds, which the IRS now issues electronically except in limited cases. To change how those are paid, contact the agency that pays them: the Department of Veterans Affairs for veterans' benefits, the Office of Personnel Management for federal retirement, and the IRS, through your tax return, for refunds.
If you already have direct deposit, do you need to do anything?
No. Payments that already go to an account or a Direct Express card continue as before, on the same dates. The change matters to you only if a check still arrives, or when you change banks, in which case the new details must reach Social Security before you close the old account.
Does it affect state benefits?
No. Unemployment insurance, SNAP and TANF are paid by the states, which already deliver most benefits by direct deposit, a state debit card or an EBT card. Nothing in the federal change alters how those programs pay you, though each has its own rules for changing your payment method.
What are your choices?
Swipe sideways to see the whole table.
| How they compare | Direct deposit | Direct Express card |
|---|---|---|
| Where the money goes | A checking or savings account at a bank or credit union, in your name or held jointly with you | A prepaid debit card from Treasury, loaded each month |
| What you need | An account, with its routing and account numbers | Nothing: no bank account or credit check |
| Costs | Depends on the account; many low-cost accounts have no overdraft fees or minimum balance | Basic use is free; some services, such as certain ATM withdrawals, carry fees |
| Good for | Most people, especially anyone who pays bills from an account | People without a bank account, or who prefer not to have one |
Signing up for either costs nothing, the choice is yours, and you can change it later. If you do not have an account and would like one, ask a bank or credit union for a low-cost account with no overdraft fees. With Direct Express, getting cash back with a purchase at a store and using the card's network ATMs are the usual ways to avoid fees, and the card can send a text or email when each payment arrives.
How do you switch?
- Choose where the money will go, and open an account or ask about Direct Express if you need to.
- Find your routing number and account number. Both are printed at the bottom of a check and shown in your bank's app or website.
- Tell Social Security. If you receive Social Security, sign in to your my Social Security account, call 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778), or visit a local office. Social Security says the online service is not available to people who receive SSI, who should call or visit instead.
- Ask when the first electronic payment will arrive.
- Keep your old arrangement working until it does. Do not close an account that still receives payments.
Someone without a bank account who has always cashed a check at a store can simply call Social Security and ask for a Direct Express card. The card comes by mail, the next payment is loaded onto it on the usual date, and it can be used to pay bills, shop and withdraw cash at network ATMs.
Will your payment date change?
No. Going electronic does not move the date. Social Security retirement, disability and survivor benefits are generally paid on a Wednesday that depends on your birthday:
| Your situation | Payment day |
|---|---|
| Birthday on the 1st to the 10th | Second Wednesday of the month |
| Birthday on the 11th to the 20th | Third Wednesday |
| Birthday on the 21st to the 31st | Fourth Wednesday |
| Benefits that began before May 1997, or paid alongside SSI | The 3rd of the month |
| SSI | The 1st of the month |
When a payment date falls on a weekend or federal holiday, the payment arrives on the business day before. If a payment does not appear, check with your bank first, then call Social Security. For more on how benefits are figured, see our guides to Social Security and SSI.
Can you still get a paper check?
Only in rare cases. The executive order allows limited exceptions, for situations such as people without access to banking services or electronic payment systems and certain emergency payments, and Social Security describes them as extremely rare. Requests go through the agency that pays you, and Social Security's page on electronic payments explains how to ask. In 2026 Treasury proposed updating the rules on when paper checks may still be issued, so check with the agency for the current process.
If your reason is that you have no bank account, Direct Express is the option built for that situation, so an exception is seldom the first step.
What if you manage benefits for someone else?
A representative payee, the person or organization Social Security names to manage someone's benefits, must also be paid electronically. Payees must keep the beneficiary's money separate from their own, in an account titled to show that the money belongs to the beneficiary, so set up that kind of account rather than using a personal one. A payee can also receive the payments on a Direct Express card in the beneficiary's name.
Family members who help informally, without being a payee, can help an older relative set up either option, but the account or card should be in the beneficiary's name and the request should come from the beneficiary or the payee.
How do you keep the payment safe?
Scammers use news about payments to ask for bank details. Social Security does not call or text to demand payment or to ask you to confirm an account number, and it does not charge to set up direct deposit. Make changes only in your own my Social Security account, through the number on ssa.gov, or in person; our guide to spotting benefit scams lists the warning signs.
A my Social Security account can send alerts when your address or direct deposit information changes, which helps you notice a change you did not make. If a Direct Express card is lost or stolen, report it right away using the customer service number on the program's official website, so the card can be locked and replaced, and keep that number somewhere other than your wallet.
What if you change banks or move?
Report the new account to Social Security first, and close the old account only after a payment has arrived in the new one. Our guide to reporting changes covers what else to tell each program, and if you are moving at the same time, our guide to moving to another state covers the other updates to make. For your federal tax refund, enter your account details on the return, since paper refund checks are now the exception too.
What this guide covers
This article covers federal payments only; state benefits are delivered under each state's rules. Phone numbers, exception procedures and account options can change, so check ssa.gov for current instructions. This site does not process payments or change your account.
Official sources
If a check still comes to you
Sign in to your my Social Security account or call 1-800-772-1213 to arrange direct deposit or a Direct Express card, and keep cashing the check until the first electronic payment arrives. If you are newly retired, you can also estimate your Social Security benefit.
