The Treasury reclamation process for federal benefits after death is how the government pulls back Social Security, VA, and federal retirement payments that landed in an account after the recipient died. The Bureau of the Fiscal Service runs it. In practice, Treasury goes to the bank first with a formal demand, the bank returns whatever is still in the account, and any shortfall becomes a debt the issuing agency collects from the person who withdrew the money.
How complicated this gets depends almost entirely on how fast the death is reported and whether anyone spent the deposits.
Report the Death Before Anything Else
Every payment that lands after death becomes a debt someone has to resolve. Reporting the death promptly is the single most effective way to shrink that number. Funeral homes usually notify the Social Security Administration, but do not assume it happened.
- Social Security: 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778), Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Have the name, Social Security number, date of birth, and date of death ready.1Social Security Administration. What to Do When Someone Dies
- Department of Veterans Affairs: 800-827-1000 (TTY 711), option 5, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET. VA says calling is the fastest way to stop payments.2U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. How to Report the Death of a Veteran to VA
- Office of Personnel Management: call the retirement center or file the online death report.3U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Report of Death
Call the bank too. If a post-death deposit has already arrived or one is on the way, the bank can flag the account and prepare for the reclamation notice it will receive from Treasury.
Which Payments the Government Reclaims
Treasury recovers any federal benefit payment deposited for a period after the date of death. The Social Security rule surprises most families: benefits are not payable for the month of death itself. Someone who dies in July is not entitled to the August deposit, which covers July, so it has to go back even though the person was alive for part of that month.4Social Security Administration. What You Need to Know When You Get Retirement or Survivors Benefits VA pension and compensation payments work similarly. OPM annuity payments stop as of the month after death.
Identification of these payments usually begins with the Social Security Death Master File, compiled from reports by funeral homes, families, banks, state vital records offices, and other federal agencies.5Social Security Administration. Requesting SSA’s Death Information Once a death is recorded, the Bureau of the Fiscal Service scans electronic payment records for every ACH deposit that landed after the death date and calculates what needs to come back.
How Treasury Gets the Money Back From the Bank
Once the issuing agency confirms the death and identifies unreturned payments, the Bureau of the Fiscal Service generates a Notice of Reclamation (FS Form 133) and sends it to the bank.6Bureau of the Fiscal Service. A Guide to Federal Government ACH Payments (Green Book) The notice lists the deceased person’s information, each post-death payment by date and amount, the agency that issued it, and the account it went to.7Federal Register. Proposed Collection of Information – Notice of Reclamation, Electronic Funds Transfer, Federal Recurring Payment
Since January 2023, banks submit their responses through the Automated Reclamation Processing System (ARPS) on Pay.gov.6Bureau of the Fiscal Service. A Guide to Federal Government ACH Payments (Green Book) If the account holds enough to cover the reclamation, the bank debits it and wires the money back to Treasury, which credits the original agency. If the account is short, the bank returns what is available and reports the shortfall. That remaining balance does not disappear. The issuing agency then goes after whoever took the money out.
Paper Checks Follow a Different Clock
Physical Treasury checks use their own timeline. Treasury can reclaim the amount of a cashed check from the presenting bank within one year of the date the check was processed by a Federal Reserve Processing Center, with a 180-day extension available in certain circumstances.8eCFR. 31 CFR 240.8 – Reclamation of Amounts of Paid Checks The presenting bank has 30 days after the Notice of Direct Debit to pay before its Federal Reserve master account is automatically debited. A protest filed inside that 30-day window stops the automatic debit.9Treasury Financial Manual. Treasury Financial Manual Volume II Part 4 Chapter 4000 – Treasury Check Reclamation Procedures
If the debt remains unpaid, interest and administrative costs start accruing on day 61 after the reclamation date, and penalties on the principal begin on day 91.8eCFR. 31 CFR 240.8 – Reclamation of Amounts of Paid Checks
When You Become Personally Liable
This is the part families most need to understand. If post-death benefit payments were withdrawn before the bank learned of the death, the federal agency that issued them will try to collect directly from whoever took the money.10Treasury Financial Experience. Green Book – A Guide to Federal Government ACH Payments, Chapter 5 – Reclamations The bank is not deputized to chase you. The agency handles it.
You can voluntarily repay by sending a check or money order to the issuing agency and referencing the reclamation ticket number. If every post-death payment is repaid before the reclamation is processed, the bank should not receive a Notice of Reclamation at all.10Treasury Financial Experience. Green Book – A Guide to Federal Government ACH Payments, Chapter 5 – Reclamations Getting ahead of the process is almost always cheaper than waiting.
If the agency cannot collect voluntarily, it can refer the debt to the Treasury Offset Program. TOP matches delinquent federal debts against federal payments going out to the debtor, including tax refunds, and withholds the payment to satisfy the debt.11Bureau of the Fiscal Service. Treasury Offset Program A surviving spouse expecting a refund could see it taken to cover benefits spent from the deceased person’s account.
Criminal Exposure
Knowingly cashing or spending federal benefits owed to a deceased person crosses out of civil debt. For VA benefits, fraudulently accepting payments after the recipient’s right to them has ended carries up to one year in prison, a fine, or both.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 38 USC Chapter 61 – Penal and Forfeiture Provisions Fiduciaries such as guardians or conservators who misappropriate VA benefits face up to five years. Courts can order restitution on top of other penalties.
Prosecutors focus on intent. Someone who did not realize a deposit had arrived is in a very different position from someone who concealed a death to keep payments flowing. The practical rule is the same either way: if you see a post-death deposit, do not touch it. Call the agency and the bank.
Waivers and Protests
For Social Security overpayments, survivors can request a waiver on Form SSA-632 if they were not at fault and repayment would cause financial hardship or be unfair. SSA reviews each request individually. Collection can continue while the request is pending unless the agency agrees to suspend it, so file promptly.
VA overpayments have a parallel waiver process built around the same fault-and-hardship questions. The consistent lesson from either program is to respond to the notice rather than ignore it. People who engage tend to get better outcomes than people who let the debt roll toward Treasury Offset.
Banks that believe a reclamation is wrong can protest in writing under 31 CFR Part 210 and submit supporting evidence. Common grounds include an incorrect date of death, a misidentified account, or proof the beneficiary was actually alive during the payment period. For paper check reclamations, filing that protest within 30 days stops the automatic debit of the bank’s Federal Reserve account.9Treasury Financial Manual. Treasury Financial Manual Volume II Part 4 Chapter 4000 – Treasury Check Reclamation Procedures If Treasury agrees, the reclamation is withdrawn or adjusted.