Treasury Department Going Plastic

The following is from Eleanor Laise, Treasury Plans Social Security Debit Card, WSJ.com, Jan. 4, 2008:

The Treasury Department plans to introduce a prepaid debit card for Social Security recipients in an effort to provide safer and cheaper benefits payments.***

The Plan: Treasury will roll out a prepaid debit card designed for Social Security benefits recipients who don’t have bank accounts.

The Motivation: The move is part of a broader effort to provide cheaper, more secure benefits payments by shifting away from paper checks.

The Outlook: The plan may require substantial marketing and education to help users understand the card. ***

Special thanks to Neil E. Hendershot, Esq. (Attorney at law, Goldberg Katzman, P.C., Adjunct Professor, Widener University School of Law) for bringing this development to my attention.  You can read more on Neil’s blog at PA Elder, Estate & Fiduciary Law Blog.