All Social Security checks to be electronically deposited

[Shannon9602]

Looks like things are being prepared for the MOB.... now all checks will be electronically deposited starting next year. No more paper check. Looks like we will be seeing some changes next year from how we will get our money to our new form of healthcare.


http://finance.yahoo.com/news/dont-w...120033750.html

[Tall Timbers]

Most government checks went that way a long time ago. I'm surprised that you could still get a paper social security check in this day and age. I can't remember if there were payment options towards the beginning of my Air Force career, which started back in 1982, but surely for most of those years my only option for getting paid was electronic deposit. Same with my retirement check, which I've been getting for a decade now.

I'm curious now, is there any one out there who is working in a Federal government job who has any other option than electronic deposit into a bank account?

[Praying]

You know now that I think about it, I think most all employers are going to electronic deposit instead of a paper check. This has been in progress for many many years now,- and has progressed rapidly with major employers. Many are still giving their employees the option of electronic deposit or paper checks, but last I heard, the paper check would be obsolete very soon.
Some employers now offer electronic deposit, or as an alternative, - a pre-paid debit card for payment. I agree, that this is all a part of the preparation for the MOB system. I'm surprised it has taken this long to progress to the point it is now actually.

[jadeeyes]

Yes, most companies now pay their employees via automatic deposit. A paper check can be lost, stolen or destroyed and it can be forged and altered. It might be a little more difficult to tamper with a check that has been electronically deposited, but it can be done. I think the electronic transfer makes it easier for the government to keep tabs on our income.

[Momofthree]

As a federal spouse, we stopped getting checks in the late nineties. All the electronic transactions are not only meant to keep track of purchases but also speculation of a tax on all transactions. Deposit=tax, ATM=tax, bill pay=tax, debt=tax, transfer to your savings=tax. So theoretically you would be taxed multiple times on the same dollar.

[Patreesha]

Even when I go to cash a check, the bank now gives me a paper "receipt" with my account number of the transaction. This is something new and another way they're keeping tabs on our money.

[M4EVERHIS]

...or as planned..

Someone I know tried to fund their IRA at a brokerage firm.

The firm would not accept legal tender. They could accept a check which the person does not use.

They could buy a money order or cashiers check and come back and fund the IRA.

So, to simplify, they went to their bank, to open another IRA there. The bank couldn't take cash to directly fund the IRA. The money had to be deposited, then a money order or cashiers check issued, then mailed to a central clearing place offsite where the account is then opened. (They have a checking account, but no checks so I am not sure if they could have written a check....) But the point is, the government regulations would not allow the bank to accept cash- our legal tender- they wanted every thing documented. I guess the letter from the government asking where the got the 'green stuff' to fund will be coming soon.

So, basically cash is useless and everyone has to have a checking account or jump through hoops to be in compliance with government regulations.

For some reason, I don't think the Americans approve of such regulations. The government isn't mandating a cashless society, just making it difficult to use cash- our useless legal tender that even looks like monopoly money.

[Acts5:41]

Most government checks went that way a long time ago. I'm surprised that you could still get a paper social security check in this day and age.

That. I know my husband has gotten his check electronically deposited for a good 15 years now.

[IMSAVED]

Yes,it has been a long time since I have seen a "real" SS check.

[Acts5:41]

What did it for Ron: he had put the check, folded up, in his shirt pocket. I remember it was 1993. We lived in a really bad area.

We were waiting at the bus stop, outside the dirty bookstore. A guy walked up and hassled Ron for money. Ron said no. The guy persisted. Ron said "I don't have any money" and the guy said "Yes, you do, I see that social security check in your pocket!"

Fortunately the bus came, we got on, the guy didn't, and Ron immediately went and talked to them about direct deposit. A few years later, in CA, they said they would ONLY disperse the money via bank account, no more checks. I think they gave until 1997.

Now, they do debit cards for some. Some people's credit is so bad they can't get a bank account (without extreme fees). So the government sends them a debit card every month.

[IMSAVED]

What did it for Ron: he had put the check, folded up, in his shirt pocket. I remember it was 1993. We lived in a really bad area.

We were waiting at the bus stop, outside the dirty bookstore. A guy walked up and hassled Ron for money. Ron said no. The guy persisted. Ron said "I don't have any money" and the guy said "Yes, you do, I see that social security check in your pocket!"

Fortunately the bus came, we got on, the guy didn't, and Ron immediately went and talked to them about direct deposit. A few years later, in CA, they said they would ONLY disperse the money via bank account, no more checks. I think they gave until 1997.

Now, they do debit cards for some. Some people's credit is so bad they can't get a bank account (without extreme fees). So the government sends them a debit card every month.

Ewww....that is scary.

[Acts5:41]

Well, I earned my faith. Let's put it that way.

I had a stalker, I lived in really sleazy neighborhoods for over 12 years, I was mugged, sexually harassed on several occasions... I used to have to step over the dirty needles at the bus stop. We had a prostitute who looked a lot like me (about my build, same color hair) and people were always trying to "hire" me. :eek

My favorite, when I went to the apartment manager. The complex had maybe 100 units or so.

Me: "I saw a drug dealer last night".
Manager, (laughing): "Which one?"
What?
Which one did you see?
What do you mean, which?
Honey, we have THREE drug dealers living here, THAT I KNOW OF. Which one did you see?

I was horrified. Still had 11 months left on the lease, too.

Ron worked in San Francisco for several years, in the "Tenderloin" area. They had the most aggressive panhandlers I have ever met. They were relentless. They would follow me, in their filthy clothes, reeking, yelling at me. However, I couldn't show any fear or they would have eaten me alive.

So, I learned to do the "looking right through you" routine. I also learned to dress "poor" to avoid unwanted attention. For instance, a friend gave me a designer purse. It cost about $500. I didn't know it. When I took it to SF, I got hassled constantly because people thought I had a lot of money. So, I learned to leave it at home and carry a cheap backpack instead.

I figure it all went into my "urban missionary" training.

[makeupgirl]

This is nothing new. A lot of my family members on have been getting their checks electronically deposit for years now, since the 90s actually. I dont' think it has anything to do with the MOB per se but mostly to do with the world's way of making everything accessible electronically.

[ByFaithIFly]

Looks like things are being prepared for the MOB.... now all checks will be electronically deposited starting next year. No more paper check. Looks like we will be seeing some changes next year from how we will get our money to our new form of healthcare.


http://finance.yahoo.com/news/dont-w...120033750.html

Boy,I can sure see that.I still get SS check in the mail but my unemployment is in a debit card payment.With this new law on SS checks,I can see now how the MOB will prevent you from buying or selling.SCARY but,I'm sure glad I won't be here to experence that.

for all those "Left Behind"...