Did you know? 

• Direct deposit is significantly safer than checks -- in fact, when there's a problem with a Social Security payment, nine times out of 10 it's with a paper check, not a direct deposit payment.
   
• Check fraud and identity theft are growing risks for all Americans, including people who receive federal benefits. In fiscal year 2007, nearly 60,000 checks issued by the U.S. Department of the Treasury fell prey to endorsement fraud. These checks totaled $56 million in estimated value.
   
• Currently, about 55 million people receive Social Security payments each month. Social Security recipients are the largest group to receive government payments.
   
• The government mails about 150 million benefit checks each year, at a cost of about $130 million more than the cost of direct deposit.
   
• Today, about 80 percent of federal benefit payments are made by direct deposit. That means about 12 million Americans still get their benefit payments through the mail.
   
• It costs the government 88 cents more to issue a federal benefit payment by paper check that by direct deposit.
   
• There are about 4 million people who receive Social Security and SSI benefit checks who don't have bank or credit union accounts.
   
• Promoting direct deposit is more important than ever as the first wave of baby boomers become eligible for Social Security retirement benefits in 2008. There are about 77 million baby boomers -- individuals born between 1946 and 1964.
   
• Men and women who began receiving Social Security benefit payments in 2005 at age 65 would be expected to receive benefits for a total of 17 and 19.7 years, respectively, based on life expectancies from actuarial estimates.
   
• Benefit recipients who use direct deposit can access their payments as soon as their bank or credit union opens on payment day.
   

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