National Hurricane Preparedness Week, U.S. Treasury Department Urges Electronic Payments for Federal Benefits

WHAT:

Severe weather and other natural disasters are often unpredictable and can disrupt lives in an instant. As part of National Hurricane Preparedness Week May 23-29, the U.S. Department of the Treasury strongly urges federal benefit check recipients living along the Gulf Coast and Eastern Seaboard to disaster-proof their money by switching from paper checks to electronic payments.

According to Treasury Department research, eight in 10 Americans say direct deposit is more reliable in the event of a disaster. Yet about 10.5 million senior citizens, people with disabilities and others who receive federal benefit payments still rely on paper checks for their monthly Social Security and Supplement Security Income (SSI) payments. What's more, approximately 2.7 million Social Security and SSI checks are sent to people living in hurricane-prone states each month.

Hurricanes can cause mail delays and other problems that may prevent federal benefit paper checks from arriving on time. In the case of Hurricane Katrina, for example, federal benefit recipients living along the Gulf Coast were within days of receiving their next payment when disaster struck. Tens of thousands of emergency payments had to be issued to evacuees, while those who were already using direct deposit had immediate access to their funds through automated teller machines and financial institution networks.

Hurricane preparedness isn't the only reason to switch to electronic payments. In 2009, more than 440,000 Social Security and SSI checks were reported lost or stolen, and thousands of people were without immediate access to their much-needed funds.

The Treasury Department recommends two electronic payment alternatives to paper checks:

• Direct deposit. The Treasury Department's Go Direct® campaign gives Americans with checking or savings accounts a fast, easy way to sign up for direct deposit.
• Direct Express® Debit MasterCard® card. The Direct Express® card is a prepaid debit card for Social Security and SSI benefit payments. Cardholders can make purchases, get cash and pay bills. No bank account is required. There are no sign-up fees, monthly fees or overdraft charges. Some fees for optional services may apply.

SIGN UP Information:

• To sign up for direct deposit, people may call the Treasury Department's Go Direct campaign helpline at 1-800-333-1795 or visit www.GoDirect.org.
• To sign-up for the Direct Express card, or to learn more about fees and features, people may call 1-877-212-9991 or visit www.USDirectExpress.com.

Electronic Payment

Facts:

• Safer:  There's no risk of lost or stolen checks and no need to carry large amounts of cash.
• Easier: You don't have to wait for the mail to arrive or make a trip to cash or deposit your check.
• More control: Your money is on time, every time and accessible from virtually anywhere.

Radio Actualities:

Downloadable radio actualities are available by visiting www.GoDirect.org/Media (WAV & MP3 Formats).