My mother died April 25 and Social Security told me we would need to refund Social Security for the check that arrived in her bank account via direct deposit on May 3. We asked why. The answer was very simple, Social Security retirement benefits are not payable in the month that a Social Security beneficiary dies. My mother would have had to live the entire month of April to be eligible to receive the May 3 check. Social Security retirement benefits are not prorated, meaning they are paid out on a per diem basis. This provision has been in federal law since 1939 and can be changed only by an amendment to the Social Security Act. Social Security has a very useful website where answers to many questions like this one can be found, www.ssa.gov.
Kathleen McKenstra, Aurora