What might be some reasons for not finding a listing in the Social Security Death Index?

Posted on Jan 08, 2009 under xn--zqqs84h3is.com | edit
  • My grandfather's wife (who really doesn't like the family) was not very forthcoming with the events of my grandfather's death, not even the date. She didn't tell my mother until months after the fact. I can't find a thing about it, either. There is no record that I can find anywhere, not even in the SSDI. I have a membership with Ancestry.com, and even they can't find anything. What might be some reasons?


  • Might not have been drawing social security at time of death. My mother isn't on it as she was drawing off of my father's number,not her own.


  • Evelyn is right on. My grandfather wasn't in their either because he worked for the railroad his whole life. Took me forever to find this out on my own. Good luck in your quest!


  • Could be he didn't have a number. Could be that he never drew any SS benefits like a monthly social security check, so there was no reason to report his death to the SSDI. Could be that she never reported it in order to keep his benefit checks coming even after he died, which is illegal. If you know the year he died, his full name, the wife's name, the town he likely died in, you can contact the Dept. of Vital Statistics of the state he died in and request a copy of the death certificate. Once you have that, you can also contact the Social Security Administration and alert them that you have a copy of the death certificate and inquire as to why he does not appear on the SSDI. If they are unaware he has died and are still sending out checks in his name to his wife, they will then be aware of this and will stop the checks, plus pursue legal matters with the wife. Also, contact funeral homes in the area he died and was buried for info.


  • If your grandfather was employed by a railroad (as my paternal grandfather was retired by the Cottonbelt), his pension was handled by the Railroad Retirement Board. When I was growing up, I heard my grandparents sing the praises of railroad retirement since it paid a heftier pension than Social Security.

    Your grandfather could have also been possibly self-employed.







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