Social Security sent check after father's death - am I entitled to survivor benefits as blind SSDI recipient?

This sounds like it could be a lump-sum death benefit payment, but the amount seems way too high for that (normal death benefit is only $255). It might be underpaid survivor benefits that your father was due but never received. When someone receiving SS dies, sometimes there are adjustments or payments that were processing when they passed. You should definitely NOT cash it yet until you get clarification from SSA. Since the letter says it was 'owed to the deceased beneficiary,' that suggests it might actually be money owed to your father, not to you. Have you checked your mySSA account online to see if there's any explanation there?

if its made out to YOU then cash it lol. ssa doesnt make mistakes with checks usually. my aunt got something similar when her husban died and she just deposited it no problem

I'm in a similar situation!!! My husband died last year and SSA kept sending his payments for THREE MONTHS after I reported his death. Then they sent me a notice saying I owed it all back immediately!!! It was TERRIFYING because I had already used some of it to pay for funeral expenses. Now they're taking $200 out of MY survivor benefits every month to pay it back. The SSA system is BROKEN and they will punish YOU for THEIR mistakes. DON'T CASH THAT CHECK until you get something in writing explaining exactly what it's for!!!

Let me clarify what might be happening here. When a Social Security beneficiary dies, adult disabled children can sometimes qualify for survivor benefits based on their parent's earnings record. Since you're receiving SSDI due to blindness that began before age 22 (I'm assuming), you may be eligible for what's called a "Childhood Disability Benefit" (CDB) or "Disabled Adult Child" (DAC) benefit based on your father's earnings record. The rules state that you would receive the higher of either your own SSDI benefit or the CDB amount (you don't get both). If your father's benefit amount would result in a higher payment than your current SSDI, SSA may have automatically switched you to that benefit and sent you the difference retroactive to his death. The letter's wording about "owed to the deceased beneficiary" is confusing though. I'd recommend: 1. Don't cash the check yet 2. Keep calling SSA for clarification 3. Request a detailed explanation in writing 4. Ask specifically about CDB/DAC benefits based on your father's record

I had a similar issue trying to reach SSA about survivor benefits last year. After weeks of busy signals and disconnections, I used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an agent within 20 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU. Saved me so much frustration! Once I got through, the agent was able to explain a confusing payment situation similar to yours - turned out I was eligible for a partial survivor benefit I didn't know about.

this is definitly a surviver benefit check. i got 1 when my wife died even though i was getting my own ss retirement. they give u whichever is more money basically. just call them and double check but thats what it sounds like to me

Just wanted to say I'm sorry about your dad passing away. Dealing with SS stuff on top of grief is really hard.

Oh my god this just reminded me I need to call SSA about MY dad's survivor benefits too! He died in January and I still haven't heard ANYTHING. I've called like 20 times!!!!! This is so frustrating!!!

wait ur blind? how r u typing all this?? just curious

Have you received any update on this situation? Were you able to reach someone at SSA to explain the payment?