Banking Problem with Social Security
 

A friend of mine lost his wife December 8th.
On the 3rd. week in December, (her social security payment date) it wasn't posted in her check book
so he thought it was because she passed in December.

I said not true, she should have received her November S/S payment in December regardless.
He check w/S/S office and found out I was right.
All S/S payments are paid from the previous month.

His bank took the privilege of stopping that December payment.
What a crock. :cus:

S/S had to send a form to his bank for the November back payment.

Now people in tv land I need to ask:
"How many people don't understand and lost out of billions of $$$$ on their spouse's
S/S check thinking no payment is paid on the month of passing??"

Why did your friend tell the bank of his wifes pssing.

Now i ask…how many people in tv land hve collected ss from a deceaased spouse before they remembered to tell the ssa the spouse died?

Their playing with a financial fire with fines and back payments.

The death certificate will have the time and date of the passing.
Social Security watches that like a hawk.

Funeral homes are generally responsible for notifying the SSA. In general, they will want the SSN of the deceased.

What bank?

If she died in Nov she is not entitled to receive a check for November, which is the one sent in December.

Sounds like someone did exactly what they should do. She is not to receive a check for November. She did not get one. The absence of a deposit in December was correct. I don't know how the SSA knew she died but obviously they were informed and correctly stopped payments. It is extremely unlikely the bank had anything to do with it.

More likely as stated above that notification came from a funeral home using form SSA 721. At the same time the funeral home possibly did the paperwork for the burial benefit of $225.

Nothing was a crock here. Your accusation is unfounded based on misunderstanding the rules. The error is yours not the bank nor the social security administration.

edit: I am correctly corrected. The death was in December not November.

Doesn't matter, S/S office said ALL the banks do this. :sad:

Hmmmm, she died in December!

I don't think the bank did anything wrong. From the SSA.gov website:

"If a beneficiary dies
If the payment is by direct deposit, notify the financial institution as soon as possible so it can return any payments received after death. Family members may be eligible for Social Security survivors benefits when a person dies."

Also, any payments of any type received for a deceased person, must be cashed by the estate executor or by someone who is designated on the account as "transfer on death", in which case, the bank would require proof of death. It would be illegal for anyone else to remove money from an account of the deceased.

A bank needs to be notified of a person's passing to properly conform to the legal post death requirements of the account. in case of a revocable trust, the account now becomes irrevocable, etc, and most conform to the legal post death requirements of the type of account. If the account needs to go through probate, I believe the account is frozen until fully probed.

thinking that everyone here followed the proper protocol, which may not be interpreted as fair or proper, but then laws are not always interpreted as fair and proper. They are what they are.

When my husband died, the SS check that had been deposited in our joint account that same month was taken back without notice. After a phone call with SSA, I was told they cannot issue payment to someone who is deceased. However, I did receive the paltry $255 death benefit rather quickly, and then the payment they took back and the next two months’ payments three months later. Then I was set up with the survivor benefit that I have been receiving regularly ever since. Had nothing to do with the bank - funeral home notified Social Security and they swiftly take money back and take their time to get things corrected.

Funeral homes generally notify SS.

If married more than 9 months when spouse passes away, surviving spouse is entitled to a portion of their ss added onto their current amount. It will require an appointment with them to include a copy of marriage license showing date and spouses death certificate. If divorced but once married for 10 years or more, the same applies.

How many times a year does this happen?

Paltry $255 is beter than 0.