Social Security $$

[Cindy's Mom]

My SIL passed away 2 years ago. Never married, no children, parents deceased, DH is her only "kin". Yesterday I received in the mail, my annual statement from Social Security and it got me thinking.....what happens/happened to SIL's money from Social Security.

 

[wdwfan16]

It is long gone.

 

[Kellydelly]

It's used by the government to cover everyone else that is receiving it.

 

[abdmom]

Gone. There is a $255 payment from Social Security for the funeral that whoever paid can apply for. Unless dsil had minor chldren and/or a spouse, social security doesn't pay anything else.

 

[Christine]

She doesn't get it after she is deceased. The only way that anyone could receive a payout is if she had a dependent of some sort.

I'm not sure of all the rules but when m grandfather died, my grandmother got it even though she never worked a day in her live. It was some sort of dependent/survivor thing. That was a long time ago too so not sure what goes on now.

 

[golfgal]

Her Dh can collect on her money if her benefit was more than his if he is over age 63 or whatever age in they are otherwise the money just stops coming.

 

[Cindy's Mom]

Thanks for the replies. That's what I kinda thought, that it just goes back into the "pool" when there are no dependants.

 

[msmayor]

Thanks for the replies. That's what I kinda thought, that it just goes back into the "pool" when there are no dependants.

It was never her money to begin with. When SS is collected from your pay, it doesn't sit in a bucket for you to get later on; it goes to pay the benefits of those currently collecting.

You never collect your 'own' money. You become entitled to collect what OTHER people are paying in upon your own retirement or entitlement to survivor/disability benefits.

 

[Jestocost]

It was never her money to begin with. When SS is collected from your pay, it doesn't sit in a bucket for you to get later on; it goes to pay the benefits of those currently collecting.

You never collect your 'own' money. You become entitled to collect what OTHER people are paying in upon your own retirement or entitlement to survivor/disability benefits.

This.

SS is a transfer program; not a savings program. Money paid out to current beneficiaries is money currently being paid into the program by wage earners. If beneficiaries had to rely on what they paid into the program being paid back out to them most would be out of benefits in a very short period of time.

 

[Hoodie]

This.

SS is a transfer program; not a savings program. Money paid out to current beneficiaries is money currently being paid into the program by wage earners. If beneficiaries had to rely on what they paid into the program being paid back out to them most would be out of benefits in a very short period of time.

It was also structured with the expectation that the majority of people would die before getting payments. That's a big reason why it's nearly bankrupt.

 

[Cindy's Mom]

Thanks for the replies. That's what I kinda thought, that it just goes back into the "pool" when there are no dependants.

This.

 

[Cindy B]

Well, to be technical there may be a possibility of Social Security money after death. It isn't only for children and spouses, but also for divorced spouses and in some very rare cases parents of the deceased person.

I work for SS and I deal with this particular scenerio almost every day.

A person is on Social Security and they pass away. If there is an "underpayment" on the record other individuals are due this money. An underpayment is when Social Security has an obligation to give the person an amount of money that is due them- but it wasn't given earlier. Sometime underpayments happen because benefits were correctly computed, month of entitlment changes, medicare premium changes were not input correctly, etc..

So if someone dies and there is an underpayment on the record.. the money that was to be distributed does go specific individuals. The first is the spouse of the client, then the children of the client, then a spouse that didn't qualify on first round (usually divorced spouses or separated spouses with children in their care. Last but not least is the executor of the estate.

In a perfect world, the clients family would be notified of the overage immediately and a SSA 1724 would be mailed to them. The 1724 is a form that the family fills out. The local office then faxes it to me.. (not in a local office) I then look at the type of relationship, proof of that relationship (birth marriatge docs, etc) Then I determine who get the money and how much easch person gets. Say if the deceased person has only one spouse that isn't that difficult
You could see if an overpayment exists on the record. If there is one a SSAed1724 should be completed and sent in.

The LSDP ($255.00) has been mentioned already. If you haven't filed for that yet, do so quickly..it is only available up to two years after the persons death (you may be too late

 

[Straitlover]

Cindy B, I thought the $225 could be collected only if there was a surviving spouse or dependent. Is that not the case? if not, then the person who died had to be collecting SS benefits at the tiem of death? I ask becasue my sisiter's husband jsut died 9only 51, so not collecting benefits yet). She mentioned the $255, but I told her she didn;t qualify for it.

Also, does he need to notify SSA of his death?

Sorry to hijack!

 

[Cindy B]

The LSDP of $255.00 is easily misunderstood by many-- even the individuals that work here have all types of misunderstanding.

Here's direct from the website.

http://www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs/deathbenefits.htm

The order of priority there (different than the 1724 issue) is LISH spouse. (living is same household) spouse. Divorced spouses do NOT get LSDP and they are accidently paid all the time!

I've seen children get portions of the LSDP as well if there is no spouse. Say for example a person dies, is unmarried but has two kids from a prior relationship. The $255.00 gets split between the two kids.

I've split the $255.00 seven times for 7 kids.

Its best to contact Social Security and apply. You have up to two years to apply for LSDP as opposed to other benefits. And if you are stating that your sisters husband just died (sorry for your loss) and she was the spouse living in the same household, she should be eligible for benefits. Also if your sister is over 60 or over 50 years old and disabled she is also eligible for widows benefits. If your sister has children that are 16 or under or over 16 and disabled (as long as they have been diagnosed with the disability prior to age 22) the kids would be eligible for benefits. If she is divorced, she may also be eligible for benefits.

She should notify them of the death for few reasons. One is that his wages/rates will be "frozen" in order to prevent fraud. I hate to say this but people who have passed away have been subject to all types of fraud. For example, arelatively young passes away and is not on the Social Security records yet. Criminals find this matter out and find a way to use that SS number for fradulent purposes and the family is not aware of this until YEARS later. The second reason is that if anything happens to your sister, she can be eligible for benefits and can use a special formula for higher insurance rates (called Windex) that take into account for a younger wage earner.

 

[bumbershoot]

That was really good info, Cindy B.

I found the SSA to be excellent to work with after FIL's death. With their help, my MIL never missed a payment (FIL was receiving benefits, and we switched it to her receiving widow benefits), and the $255 (or whatever it would have been at the end of '06) was very helpful. They are a Buddhist family and we have a crematorium here that can help people without a funeral home being involved, and that cost under $900, so you can see how ~250 went a long way towards assisting with that!

 

[Straitlover]

My sis is only 49 and not disabled (her DH was 51), so she would not be eligible for any benefits other than the $255. Their only child is 27, so nothing for her.

Thanks for the info!

 

[dejr_8]

And this is why SS needs to be transitioned from the current system to a private retirement account that survives even if you die before using it (think 401k).

 

[DMRick]

I work for SS and I deal with this particular scenerio almost every day.

Cindy, does the wife of a person who dies have to wait until age 63 to collect the half of the desceased that they will get (assuming deceased was already collecting SS)..or is it 60? I know someone that waited to remarry until they were 70, so they could collect the SS of her late husband (the half). She said she started getting it at 60.
Thank you,
Doris

 

[golfgal]

Cindy, does the wife of a person who dies have to wait until age 63 to collect the half of the desceased that they will get (assuming deceased was already collecting SS)..or is it 60? I know someone that waited to remarry until they were 70, so they could collect the SS of her late husband (the half). She said she started getting it at 60.
Thank you,
Doris

Depends on how old they are now. The age for being able to claim SS has move up over the years so someone that is older may have been able to collect at age 60.

 

[Cindy B]

That was really good info, Cindy B.

I found the SSA to be excellent to work with after FIL's death. With their help, my MIL never missed a payment (FIL was receiving benefits, and we switched it to her receiving widow benefits), and the $255 (or whatever it would have been at the end of '06) was very helpful. They are a Buddhist family and we have a crematorium here that can help people without a funeral home being involved, and that cost under $900, so you can see how ~250 went a long way towards assisting with that!

I'm glad to hear it went well... the conversion to widows benefits is supposedto be seamless and sometimes it doesn't work that way.

It has been $255 for a very long time..I want to say since like 1983 or so.