9. Pitfalls to Watch For When Seeking Benefits

Navigating benefit systems during a period of grieving often leads to simple administrative mistakes. Reviewing common errors helps protect your financial interests.

• Assuming Automatic Payment: Many families believe the $255 check automatically arrives in the mail after a death. You must actively contact the SSA to claim it.
• Failing to Return the Final Month’s Check: Social Security payments are paid in arrears. To qualify for a monthly payment, the recipient must live through every second of that full calendar month. If a person dies on March 28, they are not entitled to the Social Security check delivered in April (which pays for March). You must return unearned checks to avoid aggressive federal clawback demands.
• Confusing the Death Benefit with VA Benefits: Veterans Administration burial allowances operate under entirely separate regulations. Receiving VA burial benefits does not reduce your $255 Social Security death payment.
• Relying on Non-Qualifying Relatives: Adult children often spend hours attempting to claim the benefit, only to find that non-dependent adult children cannot legally collect it.

For additional assistance on handling financial matters after a death, consult guidelines published by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.