As of now, you can still receive Social Security benefits with a plain-old check.
Starting in 2013, the Administration will no longer issue payments with paper checks. Retirees will have to get paid electronically.
According to the Detroit News, 88% of Social Security recipients use direct deposit to receive benefits. The majority of people won't have to change anything in 2013, but it may be difficult for those who have to figure out an alternative to checks.
Opening a bank account is one option, but some people can't get bank accounts or they prefer not to pay bank fees (not that living without a bank account is cheap). Another option may be to get a debit card that gets reloaded every month instead of receiving a check.
It goes to show that the world is becoming more and more electronic. Even if you aren't comfortable with banking technology, you'll have to get a working knowledge of it.
[via Consumerist]