2.4 Determining Beneficiary Interest in Dir ect Deposit 



PROBLEM: Concern was expressed that the degree to which beneficiaries would 

 choose to elect to be paid under a direct-deposit system would not be suf " _ 

 cient to permit its economical use. Also expressed was the concern that pre- 

 mature publicity on the subject, engendered by the study itself, would bring 

 pressure from beneficiaries and financial organizations for implementation 

 of this method of payment before the Government could initiate a direct- 

 deposit program. Should such pressure materialize, the beneficiaries would 

 have to be accommodated under the power-of-attomey procedure. 



FINDINGS: Beneficiary interest was probed in surveys of both the funeral 

 beneficlarv population and the newly entitled beneficiaries. In addition, 

 potential utilization of direct deposit by aged, blind and disabled bene- 

 ficiaries was examined. These surveys disclose that 91 of the genera] bene- 

 ficiary population and 15" of the newly entitled beneficiaries would be inter- 

 ested in being oaid by credit to their accounts in financial organizations. 

 Further, the survevs disclose a vastly greater potential for such a method 

 of payment since 79% of the general beneficiary population and 7. of the 

 newlv entitled beneficiaries now have accounts with financial organizations. 

 Hie study has stimulated only a few actions by financial organizations to 

 immediately promote, with their beneficiary-depositors, an exercise of the 

 option to be paid at the financial organizations. :iost of these actions were 

 held in abeyance while still in the formative stage at Treasury s request. 

 In any case, no significant problems have resulted from these actions. 



As a result of asking power-of-attomey beneficiaries if they currently re- 

 ceive state or local assistance payments (welfare), which could be an indi- 

 cation of eligibility for SSI benefits, it was determined that less than 57. 

 of current power-of-attorney beneficiaries might be eligible for these bene- 

 fits. 



Figures 2.4.1, 2.4.2, 2.4.3 and 2.4.4 depict these and other survey findings. , 



CONCLUSION: It appears that a few SSI beneficiaries would request that their 

 benefit payments be deposited in their financial organization. The concerns 

 expressed with respect to beneficiary interest in direct-deposit are unfound- 

 ed. There is ample interest in the procedure and no problems have emerged 

 due to stimulating interest prematurely. 



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