Social Security goes plastic
By Deborah Bennett Millen News Editor

Nearly 4 million Social Security and Supplementary Security income recipients do not have bank accounts, eliminating the direct-deposit option and placing them at greater risk of check delivery delays due to lost or stolen checks, poor weather and other problems. To provide safer and cheaper benefits payments for these recipients, the U.S. Treasury recently announced plans to introduce a prepaid debit card.

The Direct Express debit card will be introduced in a handful of states, including Georgia, next April with the project going nationwide by the end of the summer. For those who sign up for the card, Social Security retirement, disability and survivor benefits as well as SSI benefits will be automatically loaded onto the card account on the designated payment date. Card holders can then use the card at ATMs, banks, retail locations and online - no waiting for the mail to access their monthly payments.

Cardholders will get one free ATM cash withdrawal per deposit per month. They will be charged 90 cents for each additional withdrawal, and users may also incur surcharges at many ATMs. However, it is possible to use the card for free. For example, cardholders can get free cash back with purchases at retail locations or free cash withdrawals through bank or credit union tellers. There is no cost to sign up for the card and no monthly fees.

Cards are FDIC-insured up to the maximum amount allowed by law, and offer a Personal Identification Number (PIN) for use at ATMs and retail locations. If a card is lost or stolen, it will be replaced.

"People without bank accounts now have a user-friendly, practical alternative to paper checks for their monthly federal benefit payments," said Judith Tillman, Financial Management Service commissioner. "We know that many check recipients are eager for a card-based option for their federal benefits, and we are confident the Direct Express card will provide many Americans an important entry point to the financial mainstream."

Anyone receiving Social Security benefits may sign up for the card by calling the toll free number 1-877-212-9991 or by visiting USDirectExpress.com online.