This bill became law on 2026-02-10 as Public Law No. 119-77.
The summary below describes the bill at the version we last reviewed; the enacted text may differ.
YourVoice.Now Summary
Your MoneyTransparency & AccountabilityCivil LibertiesSocial Security needs clear proof to mark you dead — and must flag its own mistakes.
Your Money
Social Security may not put a death on the files it shares unless it has clear and convincing evidence. The law did not set that bar before.
If someone is wrongly listed as dead, Social Security must now tell each agency that got the bad record. The old law did not make it do that.
Transparency & Accountability
Social Security must keep giving death records to the federal Do Not Pay system. Agencies use it to catch payments going to people who have died. The old rule was set to run out on December 27, 2026. The new one has no end date.
Civil Liberties
The three-year clock on this data sharing is gone, so it runs until Congress changes it. The same law adds a proof standard, because living people do end up on death files by mistake.
More about this bill
If you get Social Security, this law makes it harder for the government to wrongly list you as dead. Starting December 27, 2026, Social Security cannot record a death unless it has clear and convincing proof. And if it does mark someone dead by mistake, it must tell the other agencies that got the record. The law, passed in February 2026, also makes a death-record check permanent. Social Security must keep sending death records to the federal "Do Not Pay" system. Agencies use that system to stop payments to people who have died. It also helps them get back money already sent. That sharing rule had been set to expire on December 27, 2026. The new one takes over the same day.
Congressional Summary
Ending Improper Payments to Deceased People Act This act permanently allows the Department of the Treasury to access certain death records maintained by the Social Security Administration (SSA) to help prevent and recover improper payments (e.g., payments to deceased individuals). The act also establishes evidentiary requirements the SSA must meet before identifying an individual as deceased. Current law requires the SSA to share its Death Master File with the Do Not Pay system maintained by Treasury for three years. The act makes this requirement permanent. Treasury must enter into an agreement with the SSA related to Treasury's share of the cost of state death data. The act also prohibits the SSA from recording a death in the master file unless the SSA has clear and convincing evidence that the individual should be presumed deceased. If an individual is incorrectly identified as deceased and provides the SSA with supporting documentation, the SSA may notify certain agencies that have access to the master file, including Treasury and federal or state agencies that provide or disburse federally funded benefits.
Legislative Subjects
Details
- Congress
- 119th
- Chamber
- Senate
- Status
- summarized
- Action
- Public Law
- Action Date
- 2026-02-10
- Date Added
- 2026-06-26
- Source
- Congress.gov →
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