Ten Million To Be Converted To Direct Deposit In Less Than Two Years

From USA Today:

If you sign up for Social Security benefits after April 30, be advised: The check won't be in the mail.

Starting May 1, everyone who applies for Social Security or other federal government benefits will be required to arrange for direct deposit of their payments. The government plans to phase out paper checks entirely by 2013. ...

Seniors who are already receiving paper checks have until March 1, 2013, to switch to direct deposit. To avoid delays, though, individuals shouldn't wait until the last minute to sign up, Gregg [a spokesman for the Department of the Treasury] says.

"We do get surges of calls, and we have about 10 million people who are getting checks who need to be converted" to direct deposit, he says.