The Social Security Administration (SSA) announced that they will no longer issue paper checks for all Federal benefit payments. SSA will move to electronic payments only starting September 30, 2025.

The Transition to Electronic Payments

SSA will send notices that explain the transition to electronic payments to individuals who currently receive their benefits in the form of paper checks. Additionally, all benefit checks sent out before the transition will include information on how to sign up for electronic payments. 

Individuals can receive their benefits electronically in two different ways: direct deposit or a Direct Express® card. If individuals choose direct deposit, SSA sends benefit payments directly into the individual’s checking or savings accounts. Individuals without a bank account can sign up for a prepaid Direct Express® card that is designed for federal benefits payments. For more information on the transition to electronic payments, click here.  

Individuals may request a waiver if they meet certain criteria to continue receiving their federal benefits via paper checks, including age greater than 104, mental impairment, or living in a remote area.  

Individuals can update their payment information anytime online through their mySocialSecurity account. More details on how to enroll in direct deposit or sign up for a Direct Express® card, click here.  

The Illinois Family Caregiver Coalition was presented a USAing Achievement and Innovation Award at the USAging Conference in Chicago on July 20, 2025. The Illinois Family Caregiver Coalition is a statewide advocacy organization that regularly gathers around 100 active partners statewide to learn about trends and best practices from national caregiver organizations, other states and local partners. The Coalition also gives Illinois family caregivers a voice in national and state policy discussions.

Receiving the Award on July 20, 2025 - First Row L to R: Mary Killough, Director of IDoA; Diane Slezak, CEO of AgeOptions; Amy Brennan, Director of the Illinois Family Caregiver Coalition; Susan Real, CEO of East Central Illinois Area Agency on Aging; and Marla Fronczak, CEO, AgeGuide

The Coalition was founded in 2021 with significant input and leadership from Illinois Area Agencies on Aging (AAA), including East Central Illinois Area Agency on Aging, serving Champaign, Clark, Coles, Cumberland, DeWitt, Douglas, Edgar, Ford, Iroquois, Livingston, Macon, McLean, Moultrie, Piatt, Shelby and Vermilion counties.

Illinois Family Caregiver Coalition advocacy in Washington, DC, March 30-April 2, 2025 - L to R: Amy Brennan, Director of the Illinois Family Caregiver Coalition; Diane Slezak, CEO of AgeOptions; Susan Real, CEO of East Central Illinois Area Agency on Aging; and  Serena Worthington, Retirement Research Foundation for Aging

More than 400 caregivers, caregiver resource centers, state agencies, elected officials and partners are currently members of the Coalition, which coordinates the various partners in the Aging Network, state government and in AAA regions throughout Illinois.

Accomplishments:

• Built a large and varied statewide membership. The membership grew from the original 13 Illinois AAAs to include more than 400 coalition members.
• Successfully advocated with Illinois AAAs to create the first-ever state budget line item ($5 million) for caregiver services.
• Created a 62-page “Caregiver Stories” booklet featuring 26 Illinois caregiver stories, published eight letters to the editor in various newspapers throughout the state, and were featured in a “Caregiving” magazine cover story.

For more information on the Illinois Family Caregiver Coalition and become a member, go to https://illinoisfamilycaregiver.org/.

Written by Rob Stroud from JG-TC
May 29, 2025

CHARLESTON — Staff at the Coles County Council on Aging's LifeSpan Center provided Medicare enrollment counseling, state and local benefit application assistance, and other senior information services to 1,858 clients last year. Those services, which totaled 4,140 individual appointments with local clients in need, were made possible with the assistance of annual funding from the U.S. Older Americans Act. Consequently, the Illinois Association of Area Agencies on Aging selected the LifeSpan Center as one of several locations statewide for the "Day of Advocacy" rallies it held Wednesday in the region in support of Congress fully funding this Act amid federal budget cutting and restructuring.

"I made a point of saying the LifeSpan Center is a beacon," said East Central Illinois Area Agency on Aging Executive Director Susan Real after the rally. "They are a hub for providing Older Americans Act services."

East Central Illinois Area Agency on Aging Executive Director Susan Real, in the foreground, leads a rally for full funding of the Older Americans Act on Wednesday afternoon at the LifeSpan Center in Charleston with the help of her executive assistant, Nyah Creer.

The Illinois Association reported that while the Act is currently funded through September, its reauthorization is due, and proposed changes could threaten both the scope and stability of the law that serves as the "backbone of America’s aging network." Without continued federal investment, the Illinois Association contends that critical services will be reduced or eliminated, and this will lead to severe consequences for older adults and for
caregivers. Real said more than 478,000 Illinois residents used Older Americans Act-funded services last year. She said these services average approximately 183,000 home-delivered meals, 154,000 congregant dining center meals, 30,000 senior information service appointments, 15,000 rides, and 5,000 health screening and education appointments per year.

Enacted in 1965, the Act is designed to help senior citizens stay in their homes longer and out of nursing homes. Real said the loss of funding would cause other costs to rise as seniors' health declines and their need for nursing homes increases, she said. "The Older Americans Act has always enjoyed bipartisan support and we are certain we can continue with this bipartisan support," Real said of the ongoing advocacy effort during the Act's 60th anniversary.

More than 20 service provider and recipients attended a rally for full funding of the Older Americans Act on Wednesday afternoon at the LifeSpan Center in Charleston. the rally was led by East Central Illinois Area Agency on Aging Executive Director Susan Real, standing at center, with the help of her executive assistant, Nyah Creer.

Wednesday's rally at the LifeSpan Center took place in the facility's banquet room. Coles County Council on Aging Executive Director Kim Edwards said afterward that an average of 20 diners per weekday partake in hot meals there provided by the Peace Meal Senior Nutrition
Program, administered locally by Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center. Edwards said demand for meals at the LifeSpan Center, senior support services, caregiver advisory services and other Council on Aging programs has steadily increased in recent years as the Baby Boomer generation has grown older.

"A reduction in federal funding would significantly impact our ability to provide those services to the community," Edwards said. Real said Peal Meal has remained funded but its recent shift to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Children and Families following the dissolution of the Administration for Community Living has created some uncertainty. Barbra Wylie, director of SBL Peace Meal, said after the rally that this program served approximately 226,000 delivery and congregant dining center meals last year in Coles and the surrounding six counties.
"Sarah Bush Lincoln and Peace Meal are committed to serving senior nutrition needs in our seven-county region," Wylie said, adding that she supports community members advocating for services for senior citizens.