Are you noticing Retiree deaths going unreported?

[Kyle McDonald (PBI)]

An unprecedented number of deaths are going unreported by the SSA. In fact, almost 50% less deaths! This is due a re-interpretation of Section 205® of the Social Security Act that took place in November of 2011 that prohibits the SSA from reporting "State Death Records" in the Public Death Master File (DMF).

The SSA is still reporting deaths from every State in the country but these deaths were reported by a "First Party Source" (Family, Friends, Funeral Homes, Hospitals, Coroners, etc.) Below are the annual totals of deaths reported by the SSA from 2010 to 2015:

Annual Deaths Reported by the SSA DMF: 2010 to 2015

*2010: 2,450,902

*2011: 2,318,302 (5.4% Decrease - SSA changes took place in NOV 2011)

*2012: 1,150,663 (35.5% Decrease)

*2013: 1,474,973 (39.9% Decrease)

*2014: 1,284,624 (47.6% Decrease)

*2015: 1,259,106 (48.6% Decrease)

This has led to million of pension overpayments to deceased participants (fraud) and crippled many already underfunded pension plans. This is compounded by the fact that many Defined Benefit plan sponsors use direct deposit and these accounts are shared with a spouse, relative, and/or caretaker. It's the easiest fraud to get away with!

What's funny (or not funny) is that the Federal Government IS using these "State Death Records" for government agencies such as the IRS and Medicare but they won't share deaths with the Public including Local and State Government.

For more information, please contact Kyle McDonald at PBI at 415-299-8249 or at kylem@pbinfo.com.

[GMK]

Hey, Kyle. Please see the edit at the bottom of post #1, OK?

[My 2 cents]

Hey, Kyle. Please see the edit at the bottom of post #1, OK?

The impression I got from the comment at the bottom of post #1 (correctly or not) was that BenefitsLink was being paid to allow that post.

[david rigby]

No. The original post was edited to remove the advertising link, because BL is an advertiser-supported site. The information in the post is OK, but not the advertising link. If you disagree, please post a reply.

[John Feldt ERPA CPC QPA]

For the folks that begin to use these services, please use some caution. I used this service from PBI some years back when I was with a former employer. A large company had being doing their own plan administration internally and they outsourced the work to us, a specialized service provider. They had been using PBI which provided periodic reports on potential deaths of plan participants.

Just be aware, these are only potential deaths, not necessarily actual. Database entry errors do occur, especially at social security. We found that it was not uncommon for person that called social security to report the death was the person that got coded in their system as deceased.

So be careful when writing your initial and follow-up correspondence. Probably don't start with a letter of condolences only to have the "deceased" actually call you back a bit upset about rumors of their demise.

[leevena]

Maybe they are making up for all the erroneous reports of Abe Vigoda deaths. Lol. Too soon?

[Kyle McDonald (PBI)]

Leevena,

It's Ironic you bring up famous people. Abe Vigoda was actually reported as deceased (DOD 01/26/2016) by the SSA for a death that occurred in New York (a State Death does not share their death information). Mr. Vigoda's death must have been reported by a "First Party Source".

Below is a list of some famous people that passed away in recently that were NOT reported by the SSA but were identified through PBI's ObitPro (obituary) database:

Philip Seymour Hoffman: DOD 02/02/2014 (NO SSA or New York State Death Record - ObitPro Found)

Ernie Banks: DOD 01/23/2015 (NO SSA or Illinois State Death Records - ObitPro Found)

Joan Rivers: DOD 09/04/2014 (NO SSA or New York State Death Record - ObitPro Found)

Wes Craven: DOD 08/30/2015 (NO SSA Death Record, California Death Record Found and ObitPro Found)

Leonard Nimoy: DOD 02/27/2015 (NO SSA Death Record Found, California Death Record Found and ObitPro)

[ESOP Guy]

So did Leonard Nimoy manage to live long and prosper? I would say "yes".

[GMK]

Reminds me of the scene where Kirk says something odd, to which Spock replies, "I can't believe my ears, Captain." Kirk comes back with "I can't believe your ears either, Spock."

[My 2 cents]

Reminds me of the scene where Kirk says something odd, to which Spock replies, "I can't believe my ears, Captain." Kirk comes back with "I can't believe your ears either, Spock."

Ah, Leonard Nimoy. Such a good Boston boy!

My omniscient smart phone says those lines come from a Mad Magazine parody of Star Trek (which amused Shatner and Nimoy to the point that they wrote to the editor), and that Spock's comment in "The Trouble with Tribbles" (that Kirk couldn't believe his ears) was an inside joke reference to the parody. Isn't it great to not have to actually know or remember anything anymore?

[Belgarath]

" Isn't it great to not have to actually know or remember anything anymore?"

I never knew or remembered anything anyway, so it isn't a change for me...