Death during month of Social Security payment - do we need to return the money?

I am so sorry about your father. To answer your question - NO, you do NOT have to return the payment for the month. Social Security benefits are paid in the month following the month they are due for. So today's payment is actually for last month. You only need to report the death to SSA as soon as possible so they stop future payments.

Went thru this with my mom last year. You DO NOT need to return the last check! Just make sure to notify SSA when he passes. The funeral home usually reports the death but I still called SSA to make sure.

Let me clarify the exact rule: If your father received a payment for the month in which he dies, that payment does NOT need to be returned. However, any payment received AFTER the month of death would need to be returned. For example: If your father passes away in August, the August payment (received in August) is properly payable. But if another payment comes in September, that would need to be returned because Social Security does not pay benefits for the month of death.

Yes, exactly. Social Security payments are made the month after they are due. So the payment received in August is actually for July's benefits. That payment would be kept regardless of when in August he passes away. Just make sure to report his passing to SSA promptly (typically within 30 days) to prevent any overpayments in future months.

When my husband passed 2 years ago, I struggled to even reach someone at SSA to report his death. Spent days calling that 800 number and getting nowhere!!! Finally found a service called Claimyr that got me through to an agent in 20 minutes. Just went to claimyr.com and they have this system that calls SSA for you and then calls you when an agent is on the line. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU that shows how it works. Saved me so much stress during an already difficult time.

so sorry about ur dad. when my aunt passed away last year we didnt have to give the money back but they did stop sending payments right away. the funeral home reported it for us

MY AUNT GOT AN OVERPAYMENT NOTICE FOR $12,500 BECAUSE NOBODY TOLD SSA WHEN MY UNCLE DIED AND THEY KEPT DEPOSITING HIS CHECKS FOR ALMOST A YEAR!!! MAKE SURE YOU CALL THEM RIGHT AWAY!!

One more thing to be aware of - if your father was receiving Social Security and your mother is still living, she may be eligible for survivor benefits if her own benefit amount is less than his. She should contact SSA about this once everything has settled down a bit.