Notifying Social Security of a Death: What Happens Next

By Eric Ridley, attorney, Ridley Law. Updated October 2026.

Why the last deposit decides what you owe

Social Security pays a month behind. The deposit that lands in October pays for September. The regulation says a retired worker’s entitlement “ends with the month before the month you die” (20 CFR § 404.311(b)), so nothing is payable for the month of death, even when the death falls on its last day. So for any deposit, find the month it pays for and ask whether the person lived through that month.

A retired woman who receives $2,000 a month dies on October 20 (the figures are invented). The deposit that landed in mid-October paid for September. She was alive for all of September, so she earned it, and it stays in her estate. The November deposit would pay for October, the month she died. Nobody earns it, and it has to go back.

Suppose instead she was paid on the 3rd of each month and died on Monday, November 2. The November 3 deposit pays for October, a month she lived through, so Social Security owes it to her. It arrived a day after she died, though, and her bank will send it back anyway. That second case is the one that costs families real money, because the bank and Social Security are applying different tests. The bank asks whether the person was alive when the money arrived. Social Security asks whether the person was alive for the month it pays for.

For someone paid on the 3rd, the first answer can flip. When the 3rd, the 2nd and the 1st of a month all fall on a weekend or a federal holiday, the deposit for the prior month arrives early, inside the month it covers. Someone who dies on or after that early date has still earned that month’s payment, and Social Security treats the payment as due (Social Security’s Program Operations Manual, GN 02408.650). Check the date of death against the payment date before you assume a deposit must go back.

Notifying Social Security of the death

Social Security’s website says funeral homes “generally tell us when someone dies,” so you “don’t typically need to report a death to us.” Its survivors publication tells families to give the deceased’s Social Security number to the funeral director, because the funeral home usually makes the report. Do that at the arrangements meeting. A funeral home can only report what it has.

If no funeral home is involved, or it doesn’t report, you call. Social Security takes the person’s name, Social Security number, date of birth and date of death at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778), Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. USAGov, the federal government’s information site, says Social Security accepts death reports by phone or in person and not by email or online. It also says you can start the report without a death certificate, but you will need one later to finish it. If the person lived abroad, contact the nearest Federal Benefits Unit, and if they were a U.S. citizen, tell the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate too.

For most families a report doesn’t apply for anything. Social Security’s survivors publication says to apply promptly because, for some claims, benefits start from the time you apply and not from the date of death. Nor does it tell anyone else. The bank, any pension, the life insurer and the IRS each need their own notice, and the steps for those are in what to do when someone dies in California.

A surviving spouse who already collects spouse’s benefits on the person’s record has an easy path: Social Security changes those payments to survivor benefits when you report the death. A spouse who collects on their own record has to call and file an application. Social Security will then pay a combination equal to the higher amount, and the two benefits are not added together.

What the bank does with a deposit that arrives after death

The bank doesn’t decide whether a payment was due. Treasury’s rules for federal payments tell a bank to return every direct deposit that arrives after it learns of the death, and Social Security’s manual says that “the FI does not have the responsibility for making a decision as to whether the payment is due or not due.” So the bank sends back the deposit for the month of death and also a deposit that was earned, and Social Security’s manual treats both returns as proper for the bank. If a deposit has already posted before the bank learned of the death, the bank can either pull it back or wait for Treasury’s reclamation notice. Social Security’s publications tell families to notify the bank as soon as possible and ask it to return anything paid for the month of death or later.

The federal reclamation rule is in 31 CFR part 210. A bank is liable to the government for benefit payments received after a death unless it meets the conditions that cap what it owes, and the agency has to start a reclamation within 120 calendar days after it first knows of the death (31 CFR § 210.10(a), (d)). To get that cap the bank must give the government the name and address of the account owner, anyone else authorized to withdraw, and everyone who withdrew funds after the death (§ 210.11(b)(3)). On a joint account, that list is the trap. If you spent the deposit, you may be on the bank’s list, and the rule leaves the bank whatever right it has under state law or its account agreement to recover the money from the account (§ 210.12(a)). Leave the money where it is until the bank has returned it.

Don’t cash a paper check for the month of death or any later month. Return it to Social Security. A payment sent to a representative payee after the beneficiary’s death is processed as an overpayment made to the payee.

Supplemental Security Income follows its own rule: eligibility ends with the month in which the recipient dies, and payments terminate effective with the month after the month of death (20 CFR § 416.1334). The month-behind arithmetic above applies to Social Security retirement, survivor and disability benefits.

Getting back a deposit the bank returned but Social Security owed

When the bank returns a deposit that was earned, Social Security’s manual sorts the money into two kinds. A deposit that posted before the death and was returned afterward is an asset of the estate, and the manual sends it through Social Security’s small-estate procedures. A deposit that arrived after the death but paid for a month the person lived through is an underpayment. Social Security tells callers the bank acted within the law, helps survivors apply for the underpayment, and decides who receives it by a fixed order.

You claim an underpayment on Form SSA-1724, Claim for Amounts Due in the Case of Deceased Beneficiary, sent to the local Social Security office with proof of death, proof of your relationship to the person, and proof of appointment if you are the estate’s legal representative. The practical effect is that a spouse who lived with the person or was entitled on the same record can claim without a court appointing anyone, and so can a child entitled on that record when no such spouse exists, because the estate’s legal representative ranks last.

One month of benefits is real money to a household and usually too small to justify a probate case. An underpayment paid to a family member under that order doesn’t pass through the estate at all, while a returned deposit that posted before the death does. See which kind of administration you are in and the California small estate affidavit for where a modest estate goes from here.

The $255 payment and survivor benefits

The lump-sum death payment is $255. The statute pays the smaller of three times the person’s basic benefit amount or $255, and only if the person worked long enough to be insured. It goes to the spouse who lived with the person, or to a spouse who was entitled to benefits on the person’s record for the month of death. If neither exists, it goes in equal shares to eligible children. You have 2 years from the death to apply (42 U.S.C. § 402(i)). A spouse who was already getting spouse’s benefits on the person’s record the month before the death doesn’t need to apply.

A surviving spouse can generally collect from age 60, or age 50 if disabled, and a spouse of any age can collect while caring for the person’s child under 16, or a child with a disability who gets benefits. Children, dependent parents and some ex-spouses qualify too. A family faces a cap on what Social Security pays all of them on one record, between 150% and 180% of the worker’s benefit amount. Social Security says that eligible family members may be paid survivor benefits for the month of death itself, which is the month the person’s own benefit is not paid.

A spouse who qualifies for both a survivor benefit and their own retirement benefit gets to pick. Social Security’s website says the payments aren’t added together and that you can switch later, for example by starting with the survivor benefit and moving to your own retirement benefit at age 70 when it is highest. Work income can temporarily reduce survivor benefits for someone younger than full retirement age. The right order depends on both records, so ask Social Security for estimates on each before choosing.

Medicare after a death

Social Security handles death reports for Medicare as well, so the one report covers both. Part B coverage ends on the last day of the month in which the person dies (42 CFR § 407.27(a)). If premiums were deducted or paid for months after the death, the federal government must refund them, however small the amount, and the refund goes to whoever paid (Social Security’s Program Operations Manual, HI 01001.325). When the person paid their own premiums, the claim runs on the same Form SSA-1724 and ranks the estate’s legal representative first.

Where this fits in the estate

The rule usually shows up first as a bank balance that drops by one month’s benefit, because the bank returns the deposit under Treasury’s rules without checking whether Social Security owed it. If you are the successor trustee or the executor, expect that, tell the bank early, and write down which months each deposit paid for. Keep the bank statement and the death certificate together, since you will need to match each deposit to the month it paid for.

A deposit that posted before the death and came back is an estate asset and belongs in the inventory with the person’s other assets. An underpayment goes to the family member who claims it, and a refund of income tax is a separate matter. See what an executor does, a successor trustee’s first 90 days and the final tax return. Debts are a separate question from benefits, and credit card debt after death and student loans after death explain them. Access to the person’s accounts is covered in how to reach a deceased parent’s bank account.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to notify Social Security when someone dies?

Usually the funeral home does it for you. Social Security says funeral homes generally report deaths, so you typically don’t need to. Give the funeral director the person’s Social Security number at the arrangements meeting. If no funeral home is involved or it didn’t report, call 1-800-772-1213 and give the person’s name, Social Security number, date of birth and date of death.

Does Social Security pay for the month a person dies?

No. The regulation ends retirement entitlement with the month before the month of death, so nothing is payable for the month of death, even when the person dies on its last day. Because Social Security pays a month behind, the deposit that arrives the month after a death usually pays for the month of death and must be returned. A deposit for the month before death was earned and belongs to the estate.

Do I have to return a Social Security payment received after death?

Return the payment for the month of death and any later month. Social Security’s example is a death in July: the August deposit pays for July and goes back. For direct deposit, tell the bank and ask it to return the funds. For a paper check, don’t cash it and return it to Social Security. A deposit for an earlier month the person lived through was earned, even if it arrives after the death.

How much is the Social Security death benefit and who gets it?

The lump-sum death payment is $255, paid once. It goes to the spouse who lived with the person at death, or to a spouse entitled to benefits on the person’s record for the month of death. If there is no such spouse, eligible children share it. You must apply within 2 years of the death, unless the spouse was already getting spouse’s benefits on the person’s record. It is separate from monthly survivor benefits, which usually require an application too.

What if the bank returned a payment Social Security owed?

The bank returns every deposit that arrives after it learns of the death, whether or not the payment was due. If the deposit arrived after the death but paid for a month the person lived through, it is an underpayment. File Form SSA-1724 with the local Social Security office. Family members are paid in a set order, with the estate’s legal representative last. A deposit that posted before the death and came back is an estate asset instead.

Can a surviving spouse keep both benefits?

No. A spouse who qualifies for a survivor benefit and a retirement benefit of their own receives one payment, the one they choose, and the two aren’t added together. Social Security says you can switch later, for example starting with the survivor benefit and moving to retirement at age 70. The better order depends on both records, so ask Social Security for estimates before you choose.

What happens to Medicare when someone dies?

Social Security takes the death report for Medicare too. Part B coverage ends on the last day of the month of death. Premiums paid for later months are refunded, whatever the amount, to whoever paid them. If the person paid from their own benefits, the estate’s legal representative is first in line for the refund, and the claim goes in on Form SSA-1724.