Social Security Will End This Service To Virginians In 2025; What To Know

The Social Security Administration is eliminating a decades-old service this year, changing the way some Virginia residents receive their benefits each month.

In March, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to do away with paper checks and require the Treasury Department to make payments electronically. The order takes effect in the fall, but may pose a challenge for mostly older residents who don't bank electronically.

Exceptions will be made for recipients without banking services or electronic payment access, Money magazine reported, since 4.2% of U.S. households are unbanked, representing about 5.6 million households.

Most federal payments, such as tax refunds, are already issued via direct deposit. But Money said about 456,000 Americans still receive Social Security checks by mail based on the agency's data report.

All federal payments — including Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, Social Security Disability Insurance, vendor payments, and tax refunds — will be sent electronically after September 30, 2025. Virginians can use any of these digital methods to receive their funds: direct deposit, debit and prepaid cards, digital wallets, and real-time payment systems, according to Newsweek.

"This abrupt shift away from paper Social Security checks will disproportionately harm seniors who lack digital access or confidence navigating online banking," Matt Watkins, founder of Watkins Public Affairs, a firm that helps companies get federal and state grants, told Newsweek. "The timing is especially troubling given that the Trump administration is simultaneously cutting National Telecommunications and Information Administration digital equity funding. These resources directly support seniors, low-income households, and others facing barriers to digital adoption."

Social Security recipients already tend to skew older, as it's a major source of income for most people over age 65. Making the switch to direct deposit may prove challenging for many folks who are not used to banking online.

According to the order, "Modernizing Payments To and From America’s Bank Account," maintaining the "physical infrastructure and specialized technology" for digitizing paper checks and records cost taxpayers over $657 million in 2024 alone.

Trump's order also noted that government issued checks are 16 times more likely to be reported lost or stolen, returned undeliverable or altered than an electronic funds transfer.

“My top priority is to turn the Social Security Administration into a model of excellence — one that operates at peak efficiency,” Social Security Commissioner Frank Bisignano wrote in a statement.

The end of paper checks will likely save the government money, but it could affect the most vulnerable populations, such as elderly retirees over 80, unhoused beneficiaries and people who lack bank accounts or internet access, Mary Johnson, an independent Social Security and Medicare analyst told Market Watch.

Currently, there are around 494,000 retirees who still receive paper Social Security checks, according to a Social Security Administration report from June. Large swaths of those beneficiaries are over the age of 80, people in rural locations without internet or those with disabilities, according to Market Watch.

“A significant portion of the oldest old — over 80 and 90 — are not internet-savvy or connected. They are also more likely to be isolated without a younger adult to help them with their finances,” Teresa Ghilarducci, an economist and professor at the New School for Social Research, told Market Watch.

“Though no one will probably lose benefits, it might [lead] to a delay in getting benefits. For people who depend upon Social Security for most of their income, there could be significant levels of anxiety about paying bills,” Ghilarducci said.

The news comes as a government report revealed that the combined reserves of the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance and Disability Insurance trust funds are now expected to run dry in 2034 — one year earlier than last year’s projection.

At that point, the system would only be able to pay 81 percent of scheduled benefits, unless Congress acts.

The Old-Age and Survivors Insurance trust fund on its own is still expected to be depleted in 2033, the same as last year, with 77 percent of benefits payable at that time.

This ongoing imbalance raises significant concerns for the roughly 70 million Americans expected to receive Social Security benefits next year and the 185 million workers currently paying into the system.

"Congress must act to protect and strengthen the Social Security that Americans have earned and paid into throughout their working lives," said Mycelia Minter-Jordan, CEO of AARP, in a statement Wednesday. "More than 69 million Americans rely on Social Security today and as America's population ages, the stability of this vital program only becomes more important."

Social Security’s long-term financial outlook is also worsening. The actuarial deficit over the next 75 years has grown to 3.82 percent of taxable payroll, up from 3.50 percent in last year’s estimate, according to the report.

Patch reporter Kat Schuster contributed reporting.

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