Do You Need to Notify Social Security When Someone Dies?

Yes, someone needs to notify Social Security when a person dies, and in most cases the funeral director takes care of it by reporting the death electronically to the agency. If no funeral home is involved, or the director does not offer the service, a surviving family member or the executor of the estate has to make the report. Doing it quickly matters: it stops payments the person is no longer entitled to and starts the clock on benefits the family may be owed.

Who Actually Makes the Report

Funeral directors handle most death reports through a system called Electronic Death Registration. When the funeral home submits the death information electronically, no paper form needs to be mailed separately.1Social Security Administration. Form SSA-721 Statement of Death By Funeral Director

Even so, the executor or next of kin should confirm with Social Security that the death was recorded. If no funeral service is arranged, or the funeral home does not offer to report the death, a family member has to contact the agency directly. There is no statutory deadline, but every week of delay raises the odds that a payment goes out for a month the person was not alive to receive.

How to Report a Death to Social Security

Social Security does not accept death reports online or by email. You can only report by phone or in person.2USAGov. Report the Death of a Social Security or Medicare Beneficiary

  • By phone: call 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778), Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. local time. An automated menu comes first, then a representative.3Social Security Administration. Contact Social Security By Phone
  • In person: visit your local Social Security office during business hours. The office locator on ssa.gov will find the nearest one.4Social Security Administration. When Someone Dies

Reporting to Social Security also covers Medicare. The agency shares death records between the two programs, so you do not need to call Medicare separately.2USAGov. Report the Death of a Social Security or Medicare Beneficiary

If the person lived abroad, or you are outside the country, the Office of Earnings and International Operations handles the report. Call 1-855-522-6936 (7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time), fax 877-385-0645, or mail Social Security Administration, Office of Earnings and International Operations, P.O. Box 17769, Baltimore, Maryland 21235-7769. Any written note should include the deceased person’s Social Security number.5Social Security Administration. Service Around the World – Office of Earnings and International Operations

What to Have in Front of You Before You Call

Gather these details about the person who died:

  • Full legal name and any other names used
  • Social Security number
  • Date of birth and date of death
  • City and state where the death occurred
  • Whether the person was married at the time of death

If there is a surviving spouse or any minor children, have their Social Security numbers ready too. That lets the agency start checking survivor benefit eligibility during the same call.1Social Security Administration. Form SSA-721 Statement of Death By Funeral Director

Payments That Arrive After the Death

A beneficiary must be alive for the entire calendar month to be entitled to that month’s payment. Federal rules end entitlement with the month before the month of death.6eCFR. 20 CFR Part 404 Subpart D – Old-Age, Disability, Dependents and Survivors Insurance Benefits Because Social Security pays a month behind, any check or deposit that shows up after the death almost always covers a period the person was not entitled to and must be returned.

If the person got a paper check, mail it back to Social Security. If benefits went by direct deposit, call the bank and ask it to return the funds. Banks are required to return benefit payments once they learn of the death. The government can go back as far as six years to reclaim payments deposited after a death, up to the balance in the account.7eCFR. 31 CFR Part 210 Subpart B – Reclamation of Benefit Payments

Do not spend the money in the meantime. If someone with access to the account draws it down before the funds are returned, the estate or account holder can still be held liable for repayment.

Benefits to Ask About in the Same Call

The $255 Lump-Sum Death Payment

Social Security pays a one-time $255 benefit to certain survivors of a worker who was fully or currently insured at death.8Social Security Administration. Lump-Sum Death Payment It goes to survivors in this order:

  1. A surviving spouse who was living in the same household at the time of death.
  2. If no spouse was in the household, a surviving spouse or former spouse eligible for widow’s, widower’s, or parent’s benefits for the month of death.
  3. If no qualifying spouse, eligible children on the worker’s record for the month of death, split equally.9eCFR. 20 CFR Part 404 Subpart D – Lump-Sum Death Payment

Eligible children include those 17 or younger, full-time K–12 students who are 18 or 19, and adults whose disability began before age 22.8Social Security Administration. Lump-Sum Death Payment You have two years from the date of death to apply. Call 1-800-772-1213 or visit a local office.10Social Security Administration. Information You Need To Apply For Lump Sum Death Benefit

Monthly Survivor Benefits

Certain family members may qualify for ongoing monthly payments based on the deceased worker’s earnings record. A surviving spouse at full retirement age or older can receive up to 100% of the worker’s benefit; a spouse between age 60 and full retirement age receives 71.5% to 99%; a spouse of any age caring for a child under 16 receives 75%; and each eligible child receives 75%.11Social Security Administration. Survivors Benefits12Social Security Administration. What You Could Get From Survivor Benefits

A surviving spouse generally qualifies at 60 or older (50 with a disability), if the marriage lasted at least nine months and the spouse did not remarry before age 60. A spouse of any age qualifies, regardless of marriage length, when caring for the deceased’s child under 16. An ex-spouse may qualify if the marriage lasted at least 10 years. Children qualify if unmarried and either under 18, 18–19 and in K–12 full time, or any age with a disability that began before 22.13Social Security Administration. Who Can Get Survivor Benefits

Apply by phone at 1-800-772-1213 or in person. Bring proof of death, your birth certificate, marriage certificate or final divorce decree, and Social Security numbers for you and the deceased. Disability-based claims require additional medical forms.14Social Security Administration. Information You Need to Apply for Widows, Widowers or Surviving Divorced Spouses Benefits Missing paperwork is not a reason to wait; the agency can help you get what you need.

What Happens If No One Reports the Death

Payments keep coming. Social Security will eventually catch up through state vital records and the National Death Index, but the intervening months create real problems for the family.

If the deceased was overpaid, the agency can collect from the estate, withhold amounts otherwise owed to the estate, or offset the lump-sum death payment and any monthly survivor benefits due on the same earnings record. A representative payee who received a payment after the beneficiary died is personally on the hook for repayment.15Social Security Administration. Code of Federal Regulations 404.502 – Overpayments

Deliberately hiding a death to keep collecting payments is a federal felony. Anyone who conceals a death intending to receive Social Security payments they are not owed faces up to five years in prison, a fine, or both, plus court-ordered restitution of every dollar improperly received.16Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 408 – Penalties