The Social Security blunder that canceled payments for 82-year-old man: “You wake up one day and discover you’re dead”

The Social Security Administration receives over 3 million death reports each year. It then passes that information onto federal and state government agencies to prevent improper payments being sent out to prevent fraud.

However, errors in reporting to the agency do occur which can have wide-ranging consequences for those who are mistakenly declared dead. Fortunately, only roughly fewer than one-third of one percent of reported deaths require a correction after the fact. But that still means about 10,000 people annually get put into a state of living purgatory until they can be “resurrected.”

The issue came into the spotlight last year under the newly inaugurated Trump 2.0 administration as Elon Musk’s DOGE, Department of Government Efficiency, agency took a chainsaw to federal agencies like the Social Security Administration to cut wasteful spending.

“You wake up one day and discover you’re dead”

One such case involved a Seattle-area man named Leonard “Ned” Johnson. He shared his story with The Seattle Times that one day in February last year he found out that he was “dead” when his wife received a condolence letter from their bank. “You wake up one day and discover you’re dead,” he told the newspaper.

The erroneous death report triggered a series of headaches for the 82-year-old. The SSA clawed back his December and January benefits totally $5,201 and stopped his February and March payments, as well his Medicare coverage was cancelled. Additionally, his credit score was flagged, making it impossible to get any new credit.

After weeks of trying to contact the SSA by phone on a daily basis he finally went to a local office in downtown Seattle. There he had to wait for hours as the understaffed office, there were just two people working there, tried to handle a deluge of cases.

Finally, he jumped the line to show his passport to prove that he was alive and got his most of benefits restored at that time. His story went rather smooth compared to others, which in some cases can take months, and getting benefits restored is only the beginning.

How to “resurrect” yourself if Social Security says your dead

The SSA recommends contacting them as soon as possible to being the process of resurrecting yourself. You will have to visit an office in person to prove, with specific documentation, that you are alive and who you say you are.

Then you will need a letter from the SSA confirming you have a heartbeat which you can then use to undo your death status with financial institutions and government agencies. Additionally, you will have to keep an eye out for identity theft, as the risk increases when a person has been wrongfully declared dead.

Get closer to the game! Whether you like your soccer of the European variety or that on this side of the pond, our AS USA app has it all. Dive into live coverage, expert insights, breaking news, exclusive videos, and more. Plus, stay updated on NFL, NBA and all other big sports stories as well as the latest in current affairs and entertainment. Download now for all-access coverage, right at your fingertips – anytime, anywhere.

And there’s more: check out our TikTok and Instagram reels for bite-sized visual takes on all the biggest soccer news and insights.