A recent article on CNN reports that the Federal government will soon phase out mailing of paper checks to Social Security, VA and government pension plan recipients

Federal officials began retiring paper checks in favor of direct deposits and prepaid “Direct Express” debit cards in May 2011.  It has set a March 1, 2013, deadline for all beneficiaries to sign up for electronic payment. Anyone who fails to make the change will still receive paper checks, but will be the target of more aggressive communication efforts, such as additional mailings, said Walt Henderson, a Treasury official. “We won’t interrupt their payment, but we will be communicating with them in a more personal direct way,” he said.

Electronic payments are safer than paper checks, Henderson said. In 2011, more than 440,000 Social Security checks were reported lost or stolen, while $70 million worth of checks were fraudulently endorsed.

To sign up for direct deposit, recipients can visit www.GoDirect.org, call a toll-free helpline at 1-800-333-1795, visit their local SSA field office,  or speak with their local bank or credit union representative.

Full text of this article is posted at: http://money.cnn.com/2013/01/09/retirement/social-security-checks/index.html