From WMUR-TV of New Hampshire:
A grieving widow says the Social Security Administration added to her heartache after they took back her Social Security check without notice. ...
After [her husband's] death, Marchulitis noticed her late husband’s Social Security check for $1,008, which had been deposited on June 1, had been removed from their bank account. ...
She never got a notification, and suddenly the 69-year-old widow was bouncing checks and had no idea why.
She contacted the Social Security Administration and learned the bank did a reclamation of the money after learning her husband died.
She later found out the reclamation was an error, because her husband was alive for the entire month of May. The money was promptly returned to her account, and her bank forgave her overdraft fees.
Reached by News 9, the Social Security Administration said reclamation is common when a family member dies, and no written notice is required.
Not sure why his check would have been deposited June 1, when the earliest it would have been due would have been June 3. And it was not "her" check, it was his. It would have become her money if it were a joint account with her name on it. Otherwise, would belong to his estate. Again, unanswered questions and garbled info, typical of the news media.
ReplyDeleteCould this have been the case?
ReplyDeleteGN 02408.650 Title II Beneficiary Receiving EFT Payments Dies After the End of the Month but Before the Payment Date
https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0202408650
Why don't they just immediately convert the payments into survivor's benefits?
ReplyDeleteNot every widow(er) will qualify for survivor's benefits -- an application must be taken to see if basic qualifications are met, such as indeed having been married, and on whose record the highest benefit can be made.
ReplyDeleteIf a woman is entitled to wife's benefits on her husband's record when he dies, and she is under full retirement age, her wife's benefits are suspended. SSA sends her a Certificate of Election (indicating that she wants reduced benefits) that she must fill out, sign, and submit before wife's benefits can be converted to widow's benefits, and the LSDP paid.
ReplyDelete