Social Security Form 1724 - How Long Does It Take the SSA to Process and Remit Payment?

[nba750]

My sister passed away suddenly last August and her July benefit was deposited in her bank account a few days after she died. I knew Social Security would reverse the payment, which they did.  As soon as I had court documents naming me administrator of her estate I filed Form 1724 and sent Social Security the Form and all related legal documents (death certificate, court ordered letter of administration, proof of deposit and deposit reversal, etc.).  Social Security received the Form 1724 and legal documentation the first week of January 2025. Today is June 3, 2025 and the estate still hasn't received payment.

I've called both the national Social Security customer service line and our local Social Security office and I'm told they have everything they need but the claim is still being "processed."  One rep blamed DOGE and said any claims related to a decedent are being scrutinized and delayed. I can't close the estate until I get this payment and don't know what more to do. 

If anyone has dealt with a Form 1724 to get a decedent's benefit for the month prior to their death can you please post how long it took for your estate to get the payment?  And if you have any suggestions for trying to move the Form 1724 processing along, please let me know.  Thank you in advance!  

[GailL1]

There should not be a delay if the form was filled out correctly and there are no other claimants other than the estate.  Government does not always work like what you think - like a POA is not any good when dealing with SSA or Medicare - Same with this case - the estate gets the fund AFTER other claimants and in this order.

A Social Security payment due a deceased beneficiary may be paid to a family member or a legal representative of the estate in the following order:

1. The surviving spouse who was either living in the same household as the deceased at the time of death or who, for the month of death, was entitled to a monthly benefit on the same record as the deceased;
2. Children who, for the month of death, were entitled to a monthly benefit on the same record as the deceased;
3. Parents who, for the month of death, were entitled to a monthly benefit on the same record as the deceased;
4. A surviving spouse not qualified under 1. above;
5. Children not qualified under 2. above;
6. Parents not qualified under 3. above; or
7. The legal representative of the deceased person's estate.

SSA.gov Form SSA-1724 Claim for Amounts Due in the Case of Deceased Beneficiary 

If there are others before the estate then they are probably scrutinizing the form because for this reason.

If the deceased was living abroad there is a different review - and it is slower.

It is almost opposite if the claim is for a Medicare premium refund I guess because that is actually a refund and does not flow to anybody else on the deceased record. It would go 1st to the estate.  

Did you get the $ 255 death benefit?  Or who got it? 

SSA.gov What to do when someone dies 

This is an exceptionally long period of time to wait.  DOGE - well, who knows - most likely they are being extremely cautious.  I do know that some of the workers have been pulled from other jobs to finish the Social Security Fairness Act claimants - they have finished the ones that they could do quickly by the system but from what I have read there are about 900,000 of them that are requiring manual computation.  

So I guess I am telling you that I don’t know cause it would go by the form and if it was completed as they want it - If you are trying to get the SS benefit so that you can disperse it as the executor - that is no what they want you to do - they want to disperse it to the rightful owner as the instruction say.

[nba750]

Thank you.  I've been told by both the Federal and my local Social Security customer service representatives that the form is filled out correctly and they have all the legal documentation they need. I will make a trip to the local SSA office and ask them to pull up the account and check again to make sure everything looks correct.  As for the death benefit, I read on the SSA website is has to be a parent, spouse or child of the deceased - our parents and her husband are deceased and she had no children.  As I'm her sibling so I did not apply for the death benefit. Thank you again for your quick response!