How to Report a Death to Social Security

In most cases, the funeral home already reported it

When someone who receives Social Security benefits dies, you typically don't need to report the death yourself — funeral homes routinely handle this as part of arranging final services, using the deceased person's Social Security number, which you'll need to provide them. Once SSA processes the report, benefit payments stop and Medicare enrollment ends automatically; you don't need to contact Medicare separately.

When you need to report it yourself

If a funeral home isn't involved, or for some reason doesn't report the death, you'll need to call Social Security yourself. Reports can only be made by phone or in person — SSA does not accept death reports online or by email. Call the National 800 Number at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778), Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. local time, and have the deceased person's name, Social Security number, date of birth, and date of death ready. You can start the report without a death certificate in hand, though you may need to provide one later.

What happens to benefits and Medicare after a death is reported

Once SSA has processed the death report, the deceased person's monthly benefit stops, and their Medicare coverage under Parts A and B ends. If Medicare premiums were being withheld from a benefit payment and one gets withdrawn in error after the report is processed, the deceased's legal representative can request a refund using Form SSA-1724, submitted to a local Social Security office.

Returning a payment for the month of death

Social Security cannot pay a benefit for the month someone dies, even if they were alive for part of it — this trips people up because payments arrive a month behind the month they cover. If someone dies in July, for example, the payment that arrives in August is actually payment for July and must be returned. If the payment came by paper check, don't cash it — return it to Social Security. If it came by direct deposit, contact the bank or financial institution that received it and ask them to return the funds for the month of death and any later month.

Benefits that may become available to survivors

A death often opens up benefits for surviving family members that wouldn't otherwise apply. A one-time lump-sum payment of $255 may go to a surviving spouse who was living with the deceased, or in some cases to an eligible child if there's no surviving spouse — this must be claimed within two years of the death. Certain family members, including a widow or widower age 60 or older (50 or older if disabled), a surviving divorced spouse, unmarried children under 18 or 19 and in school, children disabled before age 22, dependent parents 62 or older, and a caregiver of the deceased's young or disabled child, may also qualify for ongoing monthly survivor benefits.

If you have questions or the report wasn't processed

If you've reported a death and benefit payments continue to arrive, or a family member believes they may be entitled to survivor benefits, call the National 800 Number to confirm the report went through and to ask about applying for benefits — the same call can often start both processes. If you live outside the United States, contact a Federal Benefits Unit or call SSA's International Call Center at 1-855-522-6936, and if the deceased was a U.S. citizen, also report the death to the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate.

Information to have ready when you call

• The deceased person's full name
• Their Social Security number
• Date of birth
• Date of death