(Washington Insider Magazine) Depending on the deceased person’s income and dependents, their Social Security checks may continue to be sent to someone else.
The death of a person does not necessarily mean the end of Social Security payments. This is because, depending on income and dependents, Social Security checks may continue to be sent to someone else after the death of the original recipient.
According to the Social Security Administration, if Social Security taxes are paid, a portion of these taxes go toward survivor benefits, which means that the surviving spouse, children, and even parents may be eligible to receive payments based on the income of the deceased.
In addition, the deceased person’s family may be eligible for benefits based on a deceased person’s earnings, as long as the deceased person worked long enough to qualify for Social Security benefits.
If there are no survivors or dependents, payments simply stop.
It is necessary to notify the social security office immediately in the event of a person’s death, and this is usually done by the funeral home using a form called a Statement of Death by Funeral Director, otherwise, you need to call the Social Security Administration.
Survivor Benefits,
If you need to report a death or apply for survivor benefits, you should call 1-800-772-1213 (number for the hearing or speech impaired: 1-800-325-0778) during business hours 8:00 a.m. A.M. to 7:00 p.m. from Monday to Friday.
It is important to provide the deceased person’s social security number at the time of application. In the event of your death, your survivors will need to provide your social security number, and if they have an executor, they can also call social security.
The Social Security Administration will automatically change any monthly benefits you were required to send to survivor benefits after receiving the death report. The agency may also be able to provide a special death payment, although this is only given once.
This article is authored by Raúl Rodríguez Cota.
