Social Security final payment question - aunt died mid-October, eligible for November payment?

I'm sorry for your loss. This is a common question with a somewhat counterintuitive answer. Social Security benefits are paid in arrears - meaning the payment received in October was actually for September, and the November payment would be for October. Since your aunt lived for most of October, her estate IS entitled to the October payment (which would arrive in November). You'll need to contact SSA to report her passing if you haven't already, and they'll guide you through the process for the estate to receive that final payment.

My condolences on your aunt. When my father died last year, we were SO CONFUSED about this exact issue! The SSA representative told us different things every time we called. Eventually we learned that YES, the estate was entitled to the final payment because he lived most of that month. But then they took back his direct deposit and we had to file some form to get it reissued to the estate. The whole thing was a nightmare honestly.

When someone recives Social Security benefits, the payment is for the PREVIOUS month, not the current one. So November payment = October benefits. But there's another rule that says the person must be alive through the entire month to get benefits for that month. So in your case, since your aunt died in October, she wouldn't be eligible for November benefits (December payment). But she should get October benefits (November payment) because she was alive for most of October. Hope that makes sense!

As others have mentioned, Social Security benefits are paid in arrears (the payment received in October was for September). However, there's an important distinction: for retirement benefits, if a person dies during a month, no benefit is payable for the month of death regardless of what day they died. So, since your aunt passed in October, her last valid payment was for September (received in October). Her estate would NOT be entitled to October's benefit that would have been paid in November. You should make sure SSA knows about her passing so they don't issue an improper payment that would need to be returned.

Here's the official rule from SSA: Benefits are not payable for the month of death regardless of what day in the month the person dies. So your aunt's September benefit (paid in October) was her final eligible payment. No payment would be due for October (which would've been paid in November) because she passed during the month of October. I know it doesn't seem fair, but that's the consistent policy. If you're getting different information when calling, ask specifically about the 'month of death' payment rule for retirement benefits.

My mom died last year and we got SO confused about this! We actually got an extra payment after she died and then had to pay it back which was a huge hassle. Make sure u call them right away

Trying to reach SSA to sort out these benefit questions has been a NIGHTMARE for my family. We spent HOURS on hold trying to figure out my grandmother's final payments. Has anyone found a better way to reach them?

My condelences on ur loss. When I was executor for my sister I learned that you need to notify social security ASAP so they don't keep sending payments. They will actually take back any payment sent for the month the person died in. Also, FYI there's a small one-time death benefit of $255 that someone might be eligible for (usually goes to the spouse but sometimes can go to dependent children).