I Received a Message Saying I’m Deceased – Will I Lose My House and Job Opportunities?

One of the most surprising things anyone has to deal with in life is what to do if they are dead. No, not really dead, as in below ground, but dead in the eyes of the government. Unfortunately, this happens more frequently than people think, and it’s a real pain to handle, and it’s happening to small groups of people right now. 

One Redditor is trying to work through this situation quickly with a post in r/SocialSecurity. This individual received a notice from their health provider indicating Social Security thinks they are dead, even though they have a mortgage and just had a job interview. So, what are they to do? 

It isn’t very reassuring to know this can happen to anyone, and while it’s usually nothing more than a paperwork error, it can have long-lasting and endlessly frustrating consequences. 

Why Does Social Security Declare You Dead

As it stands today, there are likely two reasons this Redditor was declared dead, and neither of them are very good. The first one is less likely in that the Social Security Administration declares someone dead if they haven’t been heard from or missing for seven years. 

However, the more likely scenario here is one of politics, in that the original poster, the child of immigrants, fell victim to the Trump administration’s desire to clean out the Social Security Administration of individuals it believes are here illegally. The goal is to get these individuals to self-deport, but it’s very possible the Redditor was errantly listed here as they are a naturally born US citizen. 

The comments on this Reddit post show several articles highlighting the administration’s work to declare current immigrants dead to force them to leave the country. While knowing the “why” for the original poster helps a little, it does little to resolve the fears that came with it. 

What To Do Next

According to the Social Security website, the best action is to head to a local Social Security office. From there, you can bring one type of ID, such as a Passport, driver’s license, military record, marriage or divorce record, etc., to help verify your identity. The best part is that most Redditors already recommended just going straight to the office without an appointment, as people declared dead can and will receive priority.

Once the Social Security Administration verifies your identity, they will provide you with a letter that can be provided to banks, doctors, or others, like a potential employer, in the case of this Redditor, to verify that the death was an error. 

Fortunately, the original poster did precisely what they were supposed to and received a copy of the letter, which seems like a happy ending. Ultimately, it’s a really good thing that this Redditor followed the commenters’ advice, as it seemingly all worked out in the end, at least as far as the paperwork goes. 

Will The Redditor Lose Anything? 

At the end of the day, the Redditor’s biggest fear was that they would get hired by a new company, put in their notice at their existing company, and then not be able to be employed by the new company because they are “dead.” 

The hope is that this letter from Social Security will set aside these concerns, but this goes beyond just employment and whether they could lose their mortgage. It’s certainly possible that a bank could receive a notice of death before it received the letter from the Social Security Administration. Still, the likelihood is that everything will be okay. 

At the very least, I would recommend contacting the bank directly with the Social Security letter and proactively letting the bank know what happened so that something is on file. As far as an employer goes, the original poster isn’t wrong that this could be an issue, and letting a potential employer know what’s going on might cause them to be skeptical. 

However, we hope there is someone decent on the other end for this new job who has a heart. Given the political climate, they would understand that things happen and would work with you on it if a problem did arise, should you be offered the position.

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