My dad received his social security check on March 30th because the 1st was on a Sunday. He passed away on March 31st. Will social security take back his benefits?

Hi,

I'm sorry for your loss.

If your father was receiving Social Security benefits and died on March 31st, he would not be due a payment for the month of March. But, Social Security checks for March were not paid early this year because the normal earliest payment date of the 3rd of April was on a normal business day (i.e. Tuesday). So, if your father died on March 31st and received a Social Security payment on April 3rd, that payment would need to be returned.

If your father did receive a payment from Social Security on March 30th, then I suspect that what he was actually receiving was Supplemental Security Income (SSI). In that event if he endorsed and cashed his check prior to dying on March 31st, then the payment would not have to be returned to Social Security.

Best, Jerry