Barbara Smith of Costa Mesa did not die in Boise, Idaho, on Sept. 20. She has never even been to Boise, Idaho.
So imagine Smith’s shock when she recently discovered that her Medicare was discontinued. And that her bank account was frozen. And that the Social Security Administration wanted to claw back several months of benefits — all because she was dead.
“It’s been awful,” said Smith, 81, who is definitely alive.
“I’m lucky enough to be able to pay for my prescriptions, but what if this happened to some poor little old lady? What would they do? They won’t even talk to you to tell you what happened. What am I supposed to do, write to Trump?”
After hours on hold with Social Security and a trip to the local office — “They had me write a paper to say I was alive and took a picture of my driver’s license,” she said — her Social Security benefits have been restored. The Schools First Credit Union has thawed her once-frozen account. But she’s still waiting for Medicare to acknowledge her continued existence (we’ve reached out to officials several times to nudge them along there) and she’d sure like someone to explain to her what, exactly, happened.
Did someone key in an incorrect digit on the Social Security number of a Barbara Smith who actually did die?
Was she the target of some fraudster or scammer or creep with a malicious sense of humor?
There are thousands upon thousands of Barbara Smiths in the United States, and dozens of them died in September. So maybe there was some mix-up there?
Patricia Raymond, spokesperson for Social Security, said privacy laws preclude the agency from discussing the specifics of an individual’s case. But, overall, she says her agency does a smashing job.
“Approximately 3.1 million deaths are reported to the Social Security Administration each year and our records are highly accurate,” she said by email. “Of these millions of death reports we receive each year, less than one-third of 1 percent are subsequently corrected. Deaths are reported to Social Security primarily from the states, but also from family members, funeral homes and financial institutions.”
The spokesman for Schools First, which said Smith’s account is now restored, pointed out that one-third of 1% percent of 3 million is, actually, quite a lot of people. Like, some 10,000 folks every year who are reported dead who are not, in fact, dead.
If you’re ever among this 10,000-strong army of the undead, find your nearest Social Security office at https://www.ssa.gov/agency/contact/ and contact it as soon as possible. You’ll need to provide at least one current, original form of identification to prove you’re you, and are still alive. “Social Security will take immediate action to correct our records and we can provide a letter that the error has been corrected that can be shared with other organizations,” Raymond said.
You might also want to contact your local newspaper if things get bogged down.
Raymond said SSA would reach out to Smith directly to explain what happened, once it figures that out exactly. Until then we’re all on the edge of our seats.
