Social Security monthly benefit

Is it for the month prior to receipt or for the month following receipt? I have been managing a friend's bank account--paying his bills for him out of his checking account. He passed away on Jan. 8; his social security deposit went into his account on Jan. 10. Will this money be available to use for his benefit, or will Social Security require this payment to be refunded to them? I called the local SS office today, but after about 45 minutes of holding to not very good music, just hung up.
Thanks in advance for any accurate information.

L

I do believe that you will have to return it. In the case of my late wife, she died on the 9th of the month and back then, even though the deposit had already been made into her account, I had to return the entire amount of that monthly deposit.

I hope that you can talk with a "live person" in the nearest local Social Security office because initially I had NO success trying to get any answers on the phone. Luckily, a close friend was the sister of one of the local employees and she was able to help me set up an appointment with that person and get answers to my questions. Otherwise, I was just banging my head against the wall trying to get any answers.

I think based on your location, the nearest Social Security offices are in Statesboro and also Savannah. I would surely try to deal with one of these locations if at all possible.

ps: Don't forget to do the paperwork for the HUGE windfall of $255 (burial expense ????) that is due to the deceased person's estate too.

This is true

I just went through this with my dad last year. The check is for the next month so you do have to return the deposit. Same was true for his military and his federal retirement checks.

What a complicated process that all was - and that was after dad did about every thing right planning for his estate to be handled.

Thanks Eagle Eye and Rick. Guess I will just have to cave in and go to the office in Statesboro. I can't even get through to listen to the music this morning!!

Thanks for the info;

L

Every time we've called Social Security we have had to wait on hold for an hour. We just went about our business put the phone on speaker. The person who finally answered the call was as helpful as could be and answered our questions and took care of the issues. They could not have been more helpful. I know its a hassle to be on hold but it was worth the wait for us. Sorry for your loss.

They beat you out of a month going in and another one going out.

This is Jan, payment issued on Feb 3rd will be for Jan.