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He paid all of his bills as most we're automatically deducted. Then SS drew the money back, but it made the account go into the negative because he had already paid the bills for February. Now they are going after my sister as her name was on the account.

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There are a variety of dates for SS checks to be issued. The third of the month was the usual date. Then new recipients had the issuance date spread out on Wednesdays according to the day of the month they were born. Occasionally due to individual circumstances the issuance date may revert to the third. A SS check received on 1/31 would have been for January, to be paid after January, in February. It was probably just deposited early due to the day of the week it fell on so as not to be delayed due to the first being a non-banking day. If the person did not live through January the check for that month (due in February) would be owed back.
Now if the check is for SSI, NOT Social Security, those payments are made on the first of the month for that month, not after the month like Social Security.
SSI = Payment on 1st for that month.
SSDI or SS retirement = payment for the month you just lived through and will be issued on the 3rd or a Wednesday depending on the day of the month you were born.
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Trying and tired, my dad's birthday was Feb 5th, I had always thought they were deposited on the 1st, we contacted SS on the 1st and they said nothing about it being drawn back, neither did the bank, that is why now almost 3 months later the it seemed funny that the bank would say the account was overdrawn.
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Thanks for the explanations, all, and sorry that my response was a little off the mark - but what Jessie said is what I was thinking, I guess:

"Social security issues a check for the month before. A person is considered to have "earned" the check if he/she lived through the entire month. Lal, if your father died on Jan 31, he was entitled to the check received in January, since it was actually for December. He won't be entitled to the February check, since he was a few hours away from living the entire month."
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Here is a link to the schedule of payments by social security.
https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10031-2017.pdf
checks are mailed the 2nd, 3rd and 4th Wednesdays of each month. Link shows who gets what.
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Yes, my mother was 95 when she passed on. She had been receiving hers for many years. At some point, they changed to near the person's b.day.
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I just checked. If you started receiving a check before 1997, you get the check on the 3rd day of the month. That fits.

Social security issues a check for the month before. A person is considered to have "earned" the check if he/she lived through the entire month. Lal, if your father died on Jan 31, he was entitled to the check received in January, since it was actually for December. He won't be entitled to the February check, since he was a few hours away from living the entire month.

Sometimes the SSA or the bank makes a mistake and takes a check back. It is an example of workers not really understanding the rules. I don't know if anyone is ever successful in straightening things out. I know it is very difficult. It does create havoc.
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I just checked and the checks are deposited on the second, third, and fourth Wednesdays in a month, depending on when the birthday is. I learn something new every day. My mother's birthday is on Nov 20, but she usually gets her check the 3rd day of the month. I'd have to look into the why. Maybe it's because she has been getting checks a long time.
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That's a good question, Jessie. Years ago, I think they issued them on the first of the month, or the 15th. However, my birthday is on the 26th of the month, and that's the day that it lands in my bank account. I guess they generally try to send it near your birthdate now.  My husband's birthday is on the 16th, and that's when his is available in his account.   It would be interesting to know what Lal's Dad's birthdate was.
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Are there social security checks that are written that late in the month? I thought they came on the first few days.
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You have to WAIT a month before receiving your first SS check. Therefore, when you receive your check, it was coming to you from the PREVIOUS month. You can be sure that SS does not issue checks a month in ADVANCE.  If his check was deposited on January 31, that was actually payment for the month of December. They should not have taken that back. My mother died on April 2. Her birthday had been on March 31. I called the SS office, the next day, and they had already been notified! The woman told me the funeral homes report the deaths to SS right away. I asked her about the check showing up just a day after my mother's death. She AGREED that the check received in April actually covered the month of  March (and my mother had lived through the entire month of March. I think they have a stipulation that if you don't live through at least half of that month, they take it back) ....then said that I should "always return the money", then I could put in for a request to have it returned to her account. I said "OK, thanks", knowing full well, that they were NOT due to get that money back. You can look it up on the Social Security website.  My mother always used to say to me "Remember, if I live through at least half of the month, make sure they do not try to take back that month's check."   My name was also on her bank account, and I believe this is correct, as they never bothered me in any way for the check which arrived on April 3.  That covered March, and she lived out that entire month of March.
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I believe SS is paid a month in advance - in other words, the money that came in on January 31st was payment for February - so yes, they would have drawn it back and would definitely go after whoever is on the account (or the estate) for restitution if the funds weren't available when they pulled it back.

I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but when my parents both passed away, that's how it was for them. They were entitled to the payment they received for the month they died *only* - nothing more. So when my mother passed away on the 28th of the month, and her SS payment showed up in her account, I had to leave it there, because they pulled it back within 15 days of being notified of her death.

Unfortunately, someone is going to have to pay that money back.
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