Social Security goes paperless in Oct. 2025: What recipients need to know

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Some Social Security recipients can expect their monthly check to roll in on Oct. 22.

This marks the first month that the Social Security Administration has gone entirely paperless.

President Donald Trump issued a directive to axe paper checks from being a payment method for all government outfits, per his executive order.

That means Americans who receive paper checks from places like the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Education, the IRS, or the Social Security Administration will have to shift to electronic payments.

Oct. 22 is the Wednesday that Social Security recipients born between the 21st and the 31st of their birth month will get their money deposited into their account or onto a Direct Express Debit Mastercard, which is a debit card sponsored by the United States Treasury Department.

The theory behind the transition is that it is more cost effective to send a check electronically rather than through the paper mail.

According to reporting from AL.com, an Advance/SILive.com sister site, the difference is about 35 cents — 50 cents for paper versus 15 cents for electronic.

The order went into effect as of Sept. 30.

As for the payments themselves, the next round of checks will be deposited as follows:

• Nov. 12: Social Security recipients born between the 1st and 10th of their birth month
• Nov. 19: Social Security recipients born between the 11th and the 20th of their birth month
• Nov. 26: Social Security recipients born between the 21st and the 31st of their birth month

This does not include Social Security recipients who began receiving benefits prior to May 1997 or for those who receive benefits from Supplemental Security Income and Social Security.

Those who are Social Security recipients prior to 1997 and are a part of SSI will get their money on Nov. 3, with SSI being delivered on Oct. 31 for November, according to the USA Today calendar.