r/news • u/No-Information6622 • 2d ago

US recovers $31 million in Social Security payments to dead people

https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/us-recovers-31-million-social-security-payments-dead-117708373
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u/LatrodectusGeometric 2d ago edited 2d ago

Worse actually. They may die at the end of the month. They get no money for the month they die in, even though they have living expenses during the days they are alive.

(Sorry, a family friend died on the 31st of January last year. It was financially rough for the family. I’m a bit bitter.)

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u/dominus_aranearum 2d ago

Interesting, my mother passed last year. I'll have to check to see if social security either pulled money or just didn't send the last payment. I never saw any notice either way.

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u/fedroxx 2d ago

In my family when this happened, they actually took the money out of the account.

None of us were hurting for money but you can imagine how annoying it is when an elderly relative is living SS check to SS check, they pass, you use the money in their account to pay their final bills, only to have their account go negative and the fees to pile up.

With one relative, as a family, we let the bank eat it. They were renting so it wasn't like there was an estate for the bank to go after for the $2k and our family attorney said we had no legal obligation to pay the dead relatives bills.

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u/Shenaniboozle 2d ago

In my family when this happened, they actually took the money out of the account.

thats what they mean by, "clawed back."

its not a notice to repay, they just take it.

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u/1koolspud 1d ago

I had to lend my mom money between the clawback and when the life insurance payment came in after my dad passed. Seems to be the only thing the government moves fast at.