About 6 percent of Hawaii residents who get federal Social Security or Supplemental Security Income are still getting paper checks.
Those roughly 17,000 check recipients have until March 1 to switch from paper checks to electronic payments, U.S. Treasury officials said. The federal government decided in 2010 to begin switching payments to the electronic process, a move they said would save about $1 billion a decade. In Hawaii, electronic payments will save about $186,000 annually, a Treasury spokeswoman said.
Since 2010, 5.5 million people have switched from paper checks to electronic payments, Lauren Huisinga said Tuesday. The percentage of Hawaii recipients still needing to make the change is close to the national average, she added. Some states have as little as 4 percent of recipients not yet signed up, while others have more than 13 percent.
As of September, the Social Security Administration reported 94 percent of recipients were getting electronic payments. People signing up for benefits for the first time after May 2011 were required to select an electronic payment method.
The Social Security Administration’s website lists three options for the electronic payments, but information provided by the Treasury this week specific to Hawaii only offers two. Federal benefits recipients may enroll in a direct deposit program to have funds automatically deposited on the same day each month into a bank, credit union or savings and loan. They may sign up for a Direct Express debit card, to which the funds will be automatically loaded each month. This option does not require a bank account.
Huisinga said she was not certain whether Hawaii residents have access to the third option, which is opening an electronic transfer account. Those accounts cost up to $3 per month at a bank, credit union or savings and loan, require no minimum balance, officials said, and allow at least four free cash withdrawals monthly.
Officials said bank, credit union, and savings and loan employees are able to help benefit recipients sign up for the direct deposit or electronic transfer accounts. Recipients must bring a copy of a bank statement or personal check and their Social Security card for the direct deposit program, or they may call Social Security at (800) 772-1213 — TTY (800) 325-0778. The attendant on the line will ask a few questions to verify the caller’s identity, and the caller will need to provide banking information and his Social Security number.
Recipients may also call that number to get help with electronic transfer accounts or to sign up for the Direct Express debit card. The card will require the recipient to use a PIN to make payments with the card, and while signing up and one ATM cash withdrawal is free, the card does come with several fees. Any cash withdrawals after the initial one will cost 90 cents, a monthly paper statement, delivered by mail, costs 75 cents and transferring funds from the card to a personal banking account within the United States will cost $1.50 per transfer. The ATM owner may also impose a surcharge for cash withdrawals, and some ATMs limit how much money can be withdrawn from an account in one day.
The New York Times reported beneficiaries 92 years or older are exempt from the electronic payment requirement, and other recipients may apply for a waiver.
