Ending Improper Payments to Deceased People Act

This bill aims to stop government payments from going to people who have died, and to fix mistakes faster when living people are wrongly marked as dead. It tells the Social Security Administration (SSA) to share death information with the federal “Do Not Pay” system so agencies can prevent and recover improper payments. It also requires SSA to have strong proof before marking someone as deceased in its records. If SSA later finds a person was wrongly listed as dead, SSA must alert any agency that uses this data so they can correct their records and payments . Agencies will set up an agreement to share the costs of state death data used for this work .

These changes take effect on December 27, 2026 .

• Who is affected: People who receive federal benefits and the agencies that pay them .
• What changes: SSA shares death data with the Do Not Pay system to block and recover improper payments; SSA needs strong proof before marking a death; SSA must notify partner agencies when a death report is wrong .
• When: Effective December 27, 2026 .