Social Security
My husband passed away and January 12, 2026. On January 14, 2026 his Social Security payment for December 2025, was deposited in our account. On January 22, 2026 that amount was debited from our account. The Social Security representative said that he is eligible for that payment and it was the bank that debited it. I went to the bank and the representative said they would never do such a thing. Can you explain why that happened and who is responsible? What is the best way to have that deposited again? Thank you
Terry Says
Social Security reps constantly get their explanations wrong. Here are the facts:
Social Security benefits are paid a month behind. April’s benefits are paid in May, May’s in June, and so on.
Social Security regulations require that a person live an entire month to receive a benefit for that month. There are no prorated benefit payments.
If your spouse died in January, but lived through the full month of December, you were entitled to that payment.
BUT GOOD LUCK GETTING IT!
You can call SS and make it clear that he lived the entire month of December, and therefore should have received the benefit for that month, which was paid in January. But they are such a mess there, that I don’t hold out much hope. You’ll need a copy of the death certificate, of course.
And to get you started, here’s the place you file a claim for request for reconsideration:
https://www.ssa.gov/forms/ssa-561.html
Let me know if you are successful!
