Social Security Death Index: Uncovering Hidden Clues

Notes from the video:

1. Pay attention to Last residence or Last Benefit. A Last Benefit is usually paid to a qualifying survivor, a spouse or child.

2. If there is a last benefit, either a surviving spouse or dependant child was eligible to receive the deceased’s benefits.

3. If there is a last residence, this is most likely the last residence the SSA knew about when paying benefits.

4. If there is no Last Benefit or Last Residence, it may mean that someone is still collecting benefits from the deceased person’s SSA account.

5. Or, the person died before receiving any benefits and had no dependents.

6. Ancestry.com does NOT show the Social Security Number for recent deaths to protect privacy.