When someone who receives Supplemental Security Income dies, their SSI payments stop, no death benefit is paid, and any money already deposited for a month after the death has to be returned to the government. That is essentially what happens to SSI benefits when someone dies. The only money a family member can claim from the program is an underpayment: benefits the recipient had already earned but not yet received before death, and only certain survivors are eligible to collect it.
SSI Pays No Death Benefit
People often mix up SSI with Social Security retirement and disability insurance. Those programs include a one-time $255 lump-sum death payment for a qualifying surviving spouse or dependent child. SSI does not. It is a needs-based program for people who are aged, blind, or disabled with very limited income and resources, and Congress never attached a death benefit to it.
If the person who died also had enough work credits to be insured under Social Security, their survivors may qualify for the $255 payment through that separate program. But the SSI record itself produces no such payout.
Report the Death Right Away
Someone close to the recipient, usually a family member or representative payee, needs to notify SSA promptly. Reports are not accepted online or by email. You can call 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778) or visit a local Social Security office in person. Funeral homes often report deaths as well, but do not rely on that alone, because delays and errors in third-party reporting do happen.
Speed matters because of overpayments. Any SSI payment covering a month after the recipient’s death has to go back to SSA. If benefits were deposited electronically, contact the bank and ask it to return the funds. If a paper check arrives, do not cash it. Return it to your local Social Security office.
Keeping Payments After Death Can Be a Crime
Failing to report a death and continuing to collect someone else’s SSI is not just an administrative slip. Knowingly keeping government funds you are not entitled to is a federal crime. If the amount exceeds $1,000, the offense is a felony carrying up to ten years in federal prison, a fine, or both. Below $1,000, it is a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year and a fine.
Even without criminal charges, SSA will pursue repayment. The agency can withhold future benefits from anyone on SSI or Social Security who received the money, and it can use other collection tools including Treasury offsets. Prosecutors generally have to prove the person acted knowingly, so honest mistakes rarely lead to charges, but the debt still has to be repaid. Returning a payment quickly and cooperating with SSA is the clean way through.
Who Can Claim an Underpayment
An underpayment is money SSA owed the recipient but had not yet delivered at the time of death. Federal regulations tightly limit who can claim it.
- A surviving spouse who was living with the recipient during the month of death, or at any point in the six months before death, qualifies. A surviving spouse who was separately eligible for SSI in the month of death qualifies too, even without the shared-household requirement.
- If the recipient was a blind or disabled child when the underpayment accrued, the natural or adoptive parents who lived with the child in the month of death or the six months before can claim the funds.
Nobody else can collect. The regulation specifically bars payment to the estate of the deceased, to the estate of a surviving spouse or parent, and to any survivor not on that list. Adult children of the deceased, extended family, and creditors have no legal path to SSI underpayments, even through probate.
The 24-Month Deadline
A surviving spouse who was already receiving SSI at the time of the recipient’s death has no filing deadline. Every other qualifying survivor, including a spouse not on SSI and qualifying parents, has to request the underpayment within 24 months of the month the recipient died. Miss that window and SSA will not pay, no matter how strong the claim is.
Families often do not know an underpayment exists, and that is where this deadline does real damage. If you think your relative was owed benefits, contact SSA sooner rather than later.
How to File the Claim
The form is SSA-1724, “Claim for Amounts Due in the Case of Deceased Beneficiary.” You can get it at any local Social Security office or on the SSA website, and submit it by mail or in person.
You will need the deceased person’s full name and Social Security number so SSA can pull the correct record, plus proof of your relationship. A marriage certificate works for a surviving spouse; a birth certificate works for a parent claiming a deceased child’s underpayment. SSA may also ask for proof that you lived with the recipient during the qualifying period. If other people share your priority tier, such as both parents of a deceased child, list their names and addresses on the form, because SSA may divide the payment among qualifying survivors at the same level. Include your banking information if you want direct deposit.
SSA then reviews its records to calculate what the deceased was owed, verifies that you meet the definition of a qualifying survivor, and sends a written determination with the decision and the amount.
How an Underpayment Can Affect Your Own SSI
If you receive SSI yourself and you collect an underpayment, the lump sum could push you over the program’s resource limit. In 2026 that limit is $2,000 for an individual and $3,000 for a couple. Retroactive SSI or Social Security payments are excluded from counting as a resource for up to nine months after you receive them, which gives you time to spend the money down without losing eligibility.
Once those nine months pass, anything left counts as a resource like any other savings. If your total countable resources are over the limit at that point, your own SSI is at risk. Plan how you will use the funds, and talk to SSA or a benefits counselor if the amount is large.
If SSA Denies the Claim
If SSA denies your underpayment claim or calculates an amount you think is wrong, you have 60 days from the date you receive the determination to file Form SSA-561, “Request for Reconsideration.” You can submit it in person or by mail. If reconsideration does not fix the problem, you can request a hearing before an administrative law judge, and further review is available through the Appeals Council and, ultimately, federal court. Each step has its own deadline, so read every notice SSA sends and act on the dates it lists.