Social Security Death Index

2nd In A Series About Social Security

The Social Security Administration (SSA) maintains a national file of death information. They call it rather grimly the Death Master File (DMF).

Here’s what the Social Administration website says. Under the Freedom of Information Act, we are required to disclose the DMF to members of the public. Like most things you hear or read from the government, there’s more to this story.  First off, while it may be true that you can get information about a deceased person, the word Freedom in Freedom of Information Act does not mean the information is free. For that matter, it doesn’t even mean the information in the records is accurate or even exists for the person you need information about.

If you are trying to get information about a deceased person, the best information you can give the SSA is the Social Security number of that person. If you don’t have that, here’s what they say you need. “When a Social Security Number cannot be provided we can still search for a person’s records by using the individual’s full name, date and place of birth, and parents’ names (including mother’s maiden name).”

If you can provide this information SSA will search their records to determine whether or not they have the record you need. The SSA can’t help you if the person you are searching for died before 1936 or was born before 1865 unless you provide the SSN.

If SSA has what you need, this is what you get for your time and money.
A copy of the Application for a Social Security Card (Form SS-5). This document contains the person’s name, date and place of birth, and parents’ names that were given when he or she applied for the number.

And this is what the service costs:
Searching for the SS-5 application and you know and provide to SSA the person’s Social Security number (SSN): $27.00
Searching for the SS-5 application and you do not know the person’s SSN but can provide other identifying information: $29.00
Searching for a claims file and you know and provide to SSA the person’s SSN: $14.00 (Claims files are usually destroyed within a few years of the final decision on a claim.)
Cost per page for photocopying material from the claim file: $.10
Cost of the actual postage (To be determined)

What guarantee do you get from the government that you will get any information that you request?
NONE. Here’s what they say. The search fee will be charged even if we are unable to locate or disclose any information. If you want us to search for these records, please send a written request along with a check or money order payable to the Social Security Administration. They also will accept the following credit cards: VISA, MasterCard or Discover. Please include the appropriate credit card number, along with the expiration date of the credit card. We will advise you of any additional charges if appropriate.

A Better Place To Start Your Search
I found a website that let me enter what I knew and with my father’s full name and dates of birth and death I got his Social Security number. The website is  http://stevemorse.org/ssdi/ssdi.html.

There was also a link out to Search Ancestry.com where I could sign up for a 14-day trial membership and if I wanted to stay a member I’d be charged $12.95/month.

I’m not recommending Search Ancestry.com and currently have no affiliation with them. I just wanted to show you one option for finding about deceased family or friends.

I don’t know exactly what my next article will be about, but I know a lot of retired people must be wondering if their Social Security benefits will come under attack from law makers. So, I’ll be looking to see what others are concerned about and try to give you something useful.

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