General Discussion

n2doc

(47,953 posts) Sat Mar 17, 2012, 11:28 AM Mar 2012

Government oops: Local woman not dead, wants $ back

One day, Betty Longshore, a 92-year-old Port Angeles woman, had $17,000 in the bank. The next day, it was gone. The government had declared her dead and taken her federal retirement benefits.

Except there was a problem. Longshore was very much alive.

“Someone just pushed the wrong button, and whoosh, I was dead, and that shouldn’t happen,” she told the Peninsula Daily News, which reported the mistake Friday.

The government thought Longshore died last July and notified her bank in February of her death. The bank was then required to take her benefit money and return it to the government, the newspaper reported.

more

http://blog.seattlepi.com/thebigblog/2012/03/16/government-oops-local-woman-not-dead-wants-back/

4 replies

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Highlight:

Government oops: Local woman not dead, wants $ back (Original Post) n2doc Mar 2012 OP

"Someone just pushed the wrong button, and whoosh, I was dead, and that shouldn't happen" gratuitous Mar 2012 #1

why would the government get her "money back"? iemitsu Mar 2012 #2

If they thought she had been dead for a number of months, enlightenment Mar 2012 #3

My husband was on SSI disability before he died on Oct 10, 2003 and social security cut his check notadmblnd Mar 2012 #4

gratuitous

(82,849 posts)

1. "Someone just pushed the wrong button, and whoosh, I was dead, and that shouldn't happen"

Reply to n2doc (Original post)

Sat Mar 17, 2012, 11:30 AM

Mar 2012

Hmmmm.

iemitsu

(3,888 posts)

2. why would the government get her "money back"?

Reply to n2doc (Original post)

Sat Mar 17, 2012, 11:38 AM

Mar 2012

unless she died before the benefits were paid the money should belong to her heirs.

enlightenment

(8,830 posts)

3. If they thought she had been dead for a number of months,

Reply to iemitsu (Reply #2)

Sat Mar 17, 2012, 01:19 PM

Mar 2012

they would want the money that was paid after her presumed death (I guess - the DOD did that with my father's last retirement check, and is now making me jump through flaming hoops to get back the pro-rated portion of the last month of his life).

notadmblnd

(23,720 posts)

4. My husband was on SSI disability before he died on Oct 10, 2003 and social security cut his check

Reply to iemitsu (Reply #2)

Sat Mar 17, 2012, 04:21 PM

Mar 2012

that month. The thing about SSI though, is they always pay a month behind. So when there was no deposit in our account in October, I called them and told them that I knew that the October payment was for September and that my husband was alive in September, they gave me the money back.

I got survivors benefits for our son since he was then and them for myself after I lost my job, until he was 16. Our son was still in high school when he became 18 and they cut his off in April. I called them and told them that he was still in school and they resumed his payments through July.

Social Security is very quick to cut you off if they can find a reason to do it (even if the woman had actually died, I can't see them making an overpayment of 17k). But I do have to say, that both times I had to deal with them, they were quick to admit their mistake and make it right.

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