Newsweek: Hundreds of thousands of Americans will face a change in Social Security payments this month as the Social Security Administration makes the transition to fully digital payments.
After President Donald Trump signed an executive order to modernize SSA payments, the vast majority of recipients will no longer be able to get paid via paper check beginning September 30.
Why It Matters
Around 70 million people earn Social Security payments each month, including millions of retired workers, Americans with disabilities, and survivors of deceased workers.
NYC Just Saw its Worst Summer
After Page 16
far behind schedule, ranging from nine months to three years past their original deadlines. The MTA’s new five-year construction plan also faced setbacks earlier this year after its approval was delayed five months while state lawmakers and Gov. Kathy Hochul negotiated its funding.
Bill Amarosa, vice president of subways at NYC Transit, said the MTA changed the way it tracks major incidents in 2023, which contributed to the spike in the June and July data.
“It’s the same number of delays, but you’re seeing more of it tied to signal incidents, track incidents, car incidents, for example,” he said. “When you put more delays on that individual incident, you’re more likely to go over the 50-delay threshold and have it classified as a major incident.”
MTA spokesperson Joana Flores said the agency’s on-time performance metric remains relatively high. The data shows roughly 1 in 5 weekday subway trains are delayed, about the same as last summer.
“New York City Transit is increasing service and improving reliability, and the work being done across the system today — along with the historic state of good repair investments made in the upcoming Capital Plan to improve signals, tracks and equipment — will mean less disruptions for riders in the long run,” Flores wrote in a statement.
Strzepek said she was the one of thousands of morning commuters trapped at West Fourth Street during July’s power outages. And it was just her luck: the F train saw the second most delays due to infrastructure issues in June and July, according to the MTA’s new data.
The E, N, 1 and 7 trains also made their way into the top five most-delayed train lines due to infrastructure issues this summer.
The MTA also collects data on how much longer a rider has to wait on a train or at the station compared to the scheduled wait time. Both times bumped up this summer, reaching a near five-year high.
At the start of the year, when MTA officials pitched their construction plan to state lawmakers during budget negotiations, the agency’s leaders warned service could fall through the floor if repairs and upgrades weren’t funded quickly. Much of the subway system is more than a century old.
A Gothamist investigation published earlier this year highlighted the dire state of the subway’s underlying infrastructure, including mid-20th century electrical equipment that regularly explodes and subway repair shops that are physically falling apart.
Social Security Update: Hundreds of
After Page 16
The Trump administration has overseen various changes to the SSA, including a reduction of 7,000 positions within the agency and the closure of some physical offices.
What To Know
Trump signed an executive order in March to “modernize payments” for Social Security benefits, and the changes will go into effect on September 30.
While the majority of Social Security beneficiaries already receive digital payments, around 0.8 percent of recipients still receive paper checks. That means more than 500,000 beneficiaries will need to update their payment method.
“For the majority already using electronic payments, nothing changes. But for the small group still relying on paper checks, the impact is significant,” Kevin Thompson, the CEO of 9i Capital Group and the host of the 9innings podcast, told Newsweek. “Many of these individuals don’t have bank accounts, don’t use the internet, and will need hands-on help making the switch.”
The SSA previously stated that the shift is underway as paper checks are more expensive, costing the U.S. government around $0.50 to issue, whereas an electronic fund transfer (EFT) costs less than $0.15.
The SSA said the switch is likely to reduce payment costs by more than $2 million annually.
EFTs are also a faster way to make payments to recipients and are generally considered safer than paper checks, which the SSA stated are 16 times more likely to be lost or stolen than electronic payments.
The roughly 500,000 recipients impacted by the September 30 switch will need to set up a direct deposit with their bank, or they can opt to use a Direct Express card, a prepaid debit card where federal benefits will be deposited.
The SSA did stipulate some exceptions to the rule, including for individuals aged 90 and above, those with mental impairments, or people living in remote areas with no access to banking. Those recipients will need to apply for a waiver to continue receiving their Social Security payments in the form of a check.
What People Are Saying
A Social Security spokesperson previously told Newsweek: “In March 2025, President Trump issued Executive Order 14247, which mandates the transition to electronic payments for all Federal disbursements by September 30, 2025. Less than one percent of Social Security Administration beneficiaries currently receive paper checks. SSA is proactively contacting those beneficiaries to alert them about the change and the process to enroll in direct deposit or receive Direct Express cards.”
Alex Beene, a financial literacy instructor for the University of Tennessee at Martin, told Newsweek: “The change to no longer issuing paper checks is largely seen as a positive by the administration, and for good cause.
