UPDATE New mailing address requirement for U.S. Social Security recipients

03/02/2023

Note: The following information is presented as a public service to recipients of U.S. Social Security benefits. This service is NOT administered in any way by the Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke.

Over the past days, individuals who receive U.S. Social Security benefits have been receiving notification letters from the U.S. Social Security Administration regarding an upcoming change to their regular benefit payments. As stated earlier, the letters are notifying beneficiaries that payments to Canadian bank accounts associated with a Post Office Box and not a physical address can no longer be processed by direct deposit. According to Social Security’s new process, these payments must now be processed by cheque and mailed out to beneficiaries.

To ensure there are no delays to receiving benefits, it is being recommended that beneficiaries confirm their mailing address by contacting the U.S. Social Security Administration’s regional office in Burlington, Vermont at 1-877-840-5776 on or before March 23, 2023. Please note that, while some persons have been able to speak to a representative fairly quickly, there have been delays of upwards of 30-minutes for others. Due to the importance of the matter, Client-Based Services is recommending the beneficiaries exercise patience.

For added clarity, it is still possible to receive benefit payments via direct deposit to a financial institution, but it is unclear of future complications resulting from an address change, should beneficiaries choose to change their mailing address to a street address (such as River Road). As noted in letters received from Social Security Administration, the primary address provided to the Social Security Administration must be the same as the address listed with the bank account. This is now a requirement for direct deposits from outside Canada, and also requires modification to any other associated products as well (such as credit cards). Failure to ensure your addresses match may cause unknown complications that could result in delayed benefit payments.

For questions or further assistance, please contact the MCK’s Client Based Services at 450-638-0500.