WASHINGTON — Most Social Security and other federal benefits payments will be made by direct deposit by 2013, the Treasury Department is set to announce today. The decision will eliminate about 136 million paper checks sent by the Social Security Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs, Railroad Retirement Board and Office of Personnel Management.
The switch will require businesses using Federal Tax Deposit coupons to move to electronic tax payments. The Treasury also plans to cut the purchase of paper savings bonds through payroll sales. The plans should save taxpayers about $400 million in processing, postage and paper costs in the first five years, the Treasury said.
Recipients without bank accounts will be enrolled in the government’s Direct Express Debit MasterCard program.
