Benefits of Direct Deposit
Uncle Sam is about to start a national campaign to urge more Americans to use direct deposit for their benefit checks. Here's how to jump on board.</br></br>The campaign, called Go Direct, is an effort by the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve to make it easier and safer for recipients of Social Security and Supplemental Security Income to get their monthly payments -- and in doing so, save the government millions of dollars in postage, printing and related costs.</br></br>Currently, the Treasury Department mails about 160 million benefit checks a year, which translates into $100 million in printing and mailing expenses. In about 2 1/2 years, the first of 77 million baby boomers will become eligible for Social Security benefits, which could cause the number of mailings and related costs to soar.</br></br>In March, federal officials completed a six-month pilot campaign, also called Go Direct, in three states and Puerto Rico to determine how best to motivate people to switch to electronic transfers of money to their bank accounts.</br></br>The key: enlisting the help of local organizations and businesses -- including more than 13,000 volunteers at banks, senior centers and health and consumer groups -- to spread the word.