From CBS News:
Mary Hutson of Santo, about an hour west of Fort Worth, began teaching elementary school students in 1963.
Now, the great-grandmother sits and reads with her great-grandchildren and teaching them.
Hutson is very involved with her family.
She is very active.
And, she is very much alive as she explained staring into a zoom call, hair fixed perfectly, smiling from ear to ear with pink lipstick glowing. ...
But a couple of months ago, she was dead according to the government. ...
In June, Hutson’s brother passed away.
When she reported his death to the Social Security Administration, she says she somehow also ended up “deceased” according to records. ...
Particularly during a pandemic, both Hutson and Tuckett [another person who had also been wrongly declared dead] say “coming back to life” is not easy. They both had to visit the social security office in person. They then had to wait for every entity tied to that that magical nine-digit number to bring them back to life. ...
“I was glad they recognized that I am still on earth,” laughed Mrs. Hutson looking down at a letter from the Social Security Administration which she finally received stating that she is alive. “I’m old, but I’m still here.”
7 comments:
So either she filled out the form incorrectly or the SSA employee who processed it did. A question we'll never get answered due to privacy concerns...
I called to report my fathers death. We were/are both on retirement for him and disability for me. We share the same name. I made SURE the right person was declared deceased. I asked the representative three or more times to verify, he assured me, I was still alive. It's worth annoying them a bit to make sure. With only one Roman numeral separating my father and I, I could NOT take the chance. I've heard of this happening, hence my persistence with the representative. It was the 800 number I called, so..well, wanted to be thorough, they've messed things up in the past. Doubtle check, double check, then triple check...Then check again. I noticed that usually helps. Not always...but usually. It really is best to just go to the office, if one is feasibly nearby and accessible during Covid. I am unaware of any form. I'd bypass a form, or fill it out and head to the office for hand delivery, myself. Calling, in this instance, was all I could do at the time.
Hard to know how it happened but SSA needs the Social Security number of a person in order to show that they are deceased so somehow it appears she gave her number to the person doing the input. Better to just let the funeral home do it for you via SSA 721.
People win the lottery every week too. People get struck by lightening. Someone will die by a polar bear attack.
I inadvertently contributed to some such problem years ago. After being told one of my claimant's had died I called his doctor to tell him that even though claimant had died I still needed his medical records. The doctor made a sympathy call to the claimant's home only to find his patient still alive.
I recently had a potential new client call and say his attorney had died and he needed a new one. I knew this attorney and was surprised so I said I would have to get back to him. I saw this attorney had newly updated advertising which I thought was strange if he had died so I called his office. Nope, still alive.
This type of problem happens every day. Each case is "weird." It is inevitable with so many transactions. Nevertheless, the consequences for the individuals and families can be dramatic and catastrophic. We should remember both aspects of that. Compassion for the individuals caught up in what becomes a potential nightmare, and the inevitability of such errors.
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