Social Security Sleuthing—How to Search the Social Security Death Index (SSDI)

With over 78.2 million records, as of September 2006, the Social Security Death Index (SSDI) is massive…and a great place to collect dead relatives. The Social Security Administration Death Master File (DMF)contains information on millions of deceased individuals with United States social security numbers, whose deaths were reported to the Social Security Administration (SSA). It is searchable online for free at several websites, including Ancestry.com, FamilySearch.org, RootsWeb.com, and FamilyTreeLegends.com.

The SSA was originally set up in the 1930s to provide for the elderly, who could no longer work, and originally, only the primary worker of a household was to receive benefits at age 65. Even then, only those who had paid into the system were eligible. These limitations soon changed, to include retired workers’ wives or widows, children under 18, and surviving elderly parents. The “baby boomers” generation is expanding the overall number even more.

Your SSN is a unique number, too! Over 420 million Social Security numbers have been issued since the creation of the SSA, and the numbers are not reassigned after a person dies.

Reporting was often done, in connection with filing for death benefits, by a family member, an attorney, a mortuary, etc. Each update of the DMF includes corrections to old data, as well as, additional names. In your genealogical research, if you notice that an ancestor is missing from the list, it may be that the death benefit was never requested, an error was made on the form requesting the benefit, or an error was made when entering the information into the SSDI.

What information does the SSDI contain?

• Last name
• First name
• Social Security Number
• State issued
• Birth date
• Death date
• Last known residence
• Location of last benefit

Your ancestor’s absence from the SSDI is not proof that the person is alive. Also, it is possible that incorrect records of death have been entered on the DMF. Keep in mind, that the Social Security Administration does not guarantee the accuracy of the file.

SEARCH TIPS

Following some “known to be successful” genealogy sleuthing tips can help in your search:

• Less is often “more.” Don’t give the search engine so much “exact” information on a person that it cannot find the person, for whom you are looking. Their data may not have been submitted to the SSA, as you know it to be. Try searching, by possible alternate name spellings or Soundex searching.
• To avoid a large number of “hits,” and especially on common names (i.e. Smith, Jones, Brown, etc.), be as specific as possible on other data, to avoid a large # of hits. (Large being 100 or more).
• Change dates around (i.e. instead of searching for 5 Oct 1954 [10/5/54], search for 10 May 1954 [5/10/54].
• Change years around (i.e. 1984 becomes 1948.)
• Use all other possible spellings of the name (and perhaps some that aren't so likely).
• Switch last name and first name around.
• When searching for a name like O'Hannah, or other names with punctuation in them, enter the name without the punctuation (i.e. OHannah).
• Try searching for a middle name, instead of a first name.
• Even if you know a piece of information, try omitting it (i.e. if you know first and last name and death date, try leaving off the first name).

If none of these seem to produce results, it is possible that the SSA, unknowingly omitted your ancestor. In this case, you may want to contact the SSA, to add the ancestor’s name to the file.

A commonly asked question is, “Can I make corrections to the SSDI, and if so, how?” If an individual claims that the SSA has incorrectly recorded data on someone as deceased, or has incorrect dates/data on the Death Master File (the database from which the Social Security Death Index is generated), the individual should contact their local social security office (with proof i.e. a death certificate) to have the error corrected. That local social security office will:

1. Make the correction to the main file at SSA and give the individual a verification document of SSA's current records, or 

2. If the local social security office already has the correct information on the Death Master File (probably corrected sometime prior), give the individual a verification document of SSA's records.

Why would a dead person be missing from the SSDI?

Possibly, the person for whom you are looking does not meet the criteria for inclusion in the database. The SSDI does not include living people. It is not an index to all deceased individuals who have held Social Security Numbers, either. It is not a database of all deceased individuals who have received Social Security Benefits, or paid social security taxes from their wages, or whose families have received survivor benefits. Also, just because a person was never employed, and therefore, did not pay Social Security, does not mean that the person is not on the SSDI. A date noted as a death date on the SSDI is not necessarily the death date, either. It may be the date when the death was actually reported to the SSA. 

Individuals who died before 1936 were not included in the SSDI, because the first Social Security number was not issued until November 1936. Also, many deaths reported to the SSA, before 1962—the year the SSA began to automate its record-keeping system—have not been included in the index. It is important to remember that not all deaths are reported to the SSA.

Then who is listed in the SSDI?

As noted previously, the SSDI is an indexed datatabase, which contains basic information about persons with Social Security numbers, whose deaths have been reported to the Social Security Administration. The death may have been reported by a survivor requesting benefits. It may have been reported in order to stop Social Security Benefits to the deceased. As a service to family members, sometimes funeral homes report deaths to the SSA.

Beginning in 1962, the SSA began to use a computer database for processing requests for benefits. About 98% percent of the people in the SSDI died after 1962, but a few death dates go back as far as 1937. Because legal aliens in the U.S. can obtain a Social Security card, their names may appear in the SSDI, if their deaths were reported. Some 400,000 railroad retirees are also included in the SSDI.

What is indicated by the Social Security numbering scheme?

The nine-digit Social Security numbers have been issued since the SSA began and assigned by a system established in the early years of the SSA. It is composed of three parts: The first three numbers represent the area where the card was issued, with the smallest numbers assigned first in the northeastern U.S., moving westward, so the farther west in locality, the larger the number. Before 1972, this number identified the state in which the applicant's original Social Security card was issued.

Since 1972, the area number assigned has been based on the ZIP code in the mailing address provided on the application for the original Social Security card, thus not necessarily representative of where the person actually lived, as the applicant’s mailing address and their State of residence, prior to 1972 and since, do not have to be the same.

Don’t make too much of this geographic scheme, as it was designed long before computers (in 1936), to make it easier for SSA to store the applications in their files in Baltimore, since the files were organized by regions, as well as, alphabetically. It was really just a bookkeeping device for the SSNs internal use and was never intended to be anything more than that.

The next two numbers range from 01 to 99, but are not assigned in consecutive order. For administrative filing purposes, group numbers issued first consist of the ODD numbers from 01 through 09 and then EVEN numbers from 10 through 98, within each area number allocated to a State. After all numbers in group 98 of a particular area have been issued, the EVEN Groups 02 through 08 are used, followed by ODD Groups 11 through 99.

The last four numbers make up the serial number and run consecutively from 0001 through 9999.

The SSA does not maintain the SSDI, but it is, instead, provided only by independent entities, who have compiled the SSDI data from SSA records. The SSA offers no support of these commercial products, nor does it answer questions about the material in the Death Index. Because each entity compiles its own index, the exact list will likely differ, from website to website.

What information is available from Social Security records to help in genealogical research? 

Start by checking out the Social Security Death Index, which is available online from those entities noted in the first paragraph, of this article (usually the search is free). The Death Index contains a listing of persons who had a Social Security number, who are deceased, and whose death was reported to the Social Security Administration.

Words and, possibly, caution come from the SSA on these facts:

· The information in the Death Index for people who died prior to 1962 is sketchy since SSA's death information was not automated before that date. Death information for persons who died before 1962 is generally only in the Death Index, if the death was actually reported to SSA after 1962, even though the death occurred prior to that year.

· If you find a person in the Death Index you will learn the date of birth and Social Security Number, for that person. The SSA does not normally include middle name/initial information in the data, but there are many instances where such information was actually included. For example, there are many instances of "J Jones" included in the file. Most of them are initial "J" only, but some include other names, as well.

· Note that the SSDI contains dates of birth as early as, or perhaps earlier than, 1800. Because the system was created in 1932, it would be wise to suspect that birth dates, earlier than 1850 or so, were in error.

· The index also includes birth dates for several individuals who have not been born yet (62 are listed as being born after 1995) indicating the need to search combinations of years that an operator may have mistyped (i.e. you may want to search in 1986 for someone who you think died in 1968).

· Note that before 1988, the date of death was seldom recorded (i.e. only the Month and Year were recorded). Only 25% of the records have death date information and all but 34,000 of those are after 1988. This makes any death date before 1988 suspect.

· Note that more than 1,000 entries are listed with a death before 1932 (the inception of the Social Security system) making these entries suspect. · Just over 1,000,000 entries are listed with a death date before 1963. This means that the vast majority of deaths listed are deaths after 1963.

· The Last Residence is the place where the person was last known to be living when the benefit was applied for, but the city/town, county & state noted as the “last residence” is not necessarily the last residence. The date may, actually, be the date when the last lump sum payment was sent.

· While 77% of the records contain Last Residence information, a total of 19% do not contain any Last Residence information.

While the SSA believes that the majority of the SSDI information is correct, there have been reports of incorrect cities being associated with various zip codes. Also, since ZIP codes are subject to change over time, you will want to verify city names, with other sources, before relying heavily upon them, as you further your research. You can search for and cross reference ZIP codes, to names of neighboring cities/towns.

The Ancestry.com search engine allows for a search on the surname, given name, birth date, death date, last known residence and Social Security number, with an option to match on exact spelling or Soundex.

For some researchers, the original application (form SS-5), holds the key, to locating another generation on their family line. The form SS-5, which was filled out by the applicant, contains the applicant’s surname, given name (including middle name, if applicable), date of birth, home address, and place of employment.

Of special interest to a genealogist is the full name at birth, full name of both parents (regardless of whether they are living or dead), with the maiden name of the mother, date and place of birth (town, county, and state of birth—and country, if outside the US. The SS-5 also contains age at last birthday, present mailing address, sex and race, current employer’s name and address, if that ancestor ever previously applied for a SS number/Railroad Retirement, the date signed, and the applicant’s signature.

With so much information available, and if your genealogy research has hit a brick wall, you may want to obtain an ancestor’s SS-5. To do so, you will be required to file a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. For example, following a search at Ancestry.com, click on the link to request a copy of the original application, and your data will automatically be placed in a form letter for you. (Other sites are similar).  Complete the form letter, then, print, sign , and mail it to the SSA, with appropriate check or money order. Make sure that the site where you make your request offers an SS-5, and not just a death certificate based on the information from the SSDI.

Note: Not everyone who has, or has had, a Social Security card will appear on the Social Security Death Index (SSDI). Many enrolled persons are not listed either, because their death was not reported to the SSA or they are still living.

If you haven't found your deceased ancestor on the SSDI, but he or she was likely enrolled with the Social Security system, it may still be possible to get a photocopy of his or her original SS-5. To request this information, you will need to send the name and Social Security number of the person you're researching. You might be able to locate the person's Social Security number in:

• personal papers
• death certificate
• funeral home records
• records held by financial institutions
• voter registration rolls at county courthouse
• former employers of the individual

If those sources don't produce the number, you may request a "SSN search" with the Social Security Administration. To request this service you must send $29 and provide the following information: full name of deceased, state of birth, and date of birth to:

Social Security Administration
OEO FOIA Workgroup
300 N. Green Street
P.O. Box 33022
Baltimore, Maryland 21290-3022

Providing names of parents is also helpful, especially with common surnames. Be sure to provide proof of death, as the records of living individuals are not made public.

The Social Security number is often a piece of information genealogists don't have. This number can enable you to order the individual's Social Security application or claims file, leading to a discovery of a birth place, a maiden name, or parents’ names. Finding a birth and death date and Social Security number can help in a request for a death certificate or obituary.

The SSDI can provide clues to the person's residence when he or she first received a Social Security card, or to a possible last residence. It can provide a clue about where the lump-sum distribution beneficiary lived. SSDI searches can help fill in the gaps on collateral lines, too, especially for 1963.

Happy Sleuthing!!