Direct deposit of Social Security benefits

The graph shows that, for those receiving payments on the 2^nd, 3^rd, and 4^th Wednesdays of each month, roughly 90 percent of their benefit payments are paid with direct deposit. This percentage has stayed fairly constant since the middle of the year 2000. The graph also shows that the cycle 1 percentages have grown steadily, though at a slower rate after 1998.

The line representing the percentage for all payments lies between the other two lines. While initially indistinguishable from the cycle-1 payment percentage line, the line for all payments has slowly diverged from the cycle 1 line as a growing percentage of beneficiaries receive their benefits on the 2^nd, 3^rd, or 4^th Wednesdays of each month.