Do I need to repay October Social Security payment from deceased father's frozen account?

You'll need to contact SSA about this. When a beneficiary passes away, SSA automatically stops payments once they're notified of the death (usually through vital records), but retrieving that final payment requires account information. Since the bank accounts are frozen and you've opened a new estate account, they don't have the current information to retrieve the funds. Call the SSA at 1-800-772-1213 to report the change in account information and discuss repayment of the January benefit. Make sure to have your father's Social Security number, death certificate, and your court appointment documentation ready.

sorry about ur dad. my mom passed 2 yrs ago and we had same issue. SS will figure it out eventually and send u a letter asking for it back. they gave us like 30 days to repay. dont stress too much about calling them right away, they already know he passed away

You should definitely be proactive here. I was in a nearly identical situation with my mother's estate in 2024. SSA will eventually discover the payment needs to be returned, but they'll try to reclaim it from the original account first. When that fails, it creates complications. Here's what you need to do: 1. Contact SSA and inform them of your father's death 2. Tell them you're the court-appointed representative for the estate 3. Provide them with the new estate account information 4. Ask about the process for returning the January payment Having gone through this, I strongly recommend using Claimyr (claimyr.com) to reach SSA by phone. It saved me hours of waiting and disconnected calls. They have a video that shows how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU. I was able to talk to someone at SSA within 20 minutes instead of trying for days.

SSA IS THE WORST ABOUT THIS STUFF!!! My husband died in 2023 and they STILL randomly send letters about the "overpayment" from his death month. I called FIVE TIMES and they said it was resolved each time!!! Now they're threatening to reduce MY survivor benefits if I don't pay back money I ALREADY RETURNED!!! DOCUMENT EVERYTHING when you call. Get names, ID numbers of reps, confirmation numbers. Don't trust them when they say it's handled!!!

My brother died last year and nobody told SS. They kept depositing his checks for 4 months before they found out. Then they wanted ALL the money back at once. The lady at the SS office said they have a 'death match program' with vital records but sometimes it misses people. So they probably already know about your dad but maybe not? Better to tell them yourself I think.

When my aunt passed the funeral home notified SSA as part of their services. Maybe check if that happened in your case too? But either way you still need to call about the payment issue.

One important thing to note: there's an official process for this situation. SSA Form SSA-1724 ("Request for Repayment from Underpaid Beneficiary's Estate") is sometimes used when returning payments to SSA from an estate. When you call, ask if this form is needed in your case. Also, be aware that you generally have 30-60 days from when SSA sends the overpayment notice to arrange repayment before they might take further action. Since you're being proactive, you shouldn't have any issues.

just wondering, how much was the payment anyway? my grandpa only got like $1200/month so its not like they're coming after huge money

Wait I'm confused about something. Does SSA always take back the payment for the month someone dies? My mom died on Jan 31st last year and they didn't ask for that money back. Is it different if they die at end of month vs beginning??

Update: I finally got through to SSA today. You all were right - I needed to call them and explain the situation with the new estate account. They're sending me a form to complete and return with a copy of the death certificate and my court appointment papers. They said once they process that paperwork, they'll send instructions for returning the payment. Thanks everyone for your help!