Ending Improper Payments to Deceased People Act
Key claim: The bill permanently requires the Social Security Administration to share its Death Master File with the Treasury Do Not Pay system so agencies can identify and stop improper payments to deceased people.
Abstract
(HR2716 · 119th Congress) Ending Improper Payments to Deceased People Act This bill permanently allows the Department of the Treasury to access certain death records maintained by the Social Security Administration (SSA) in order to facilitate the identification and prevention of improper payments (e.g., payments to deceased individuals). Current law requires the SSA to share its Death Master File with the Do Not Pay system maintained by Treasury for three years. The bill makes this requirement permanent. Latest action (2026-01-07): Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 371.
Why this matters
Improper payments to deceased individuals are a recurring source of federal outlay losses across benefit and grant programs, and the SSA Death Master File is the government’s authoritative death record. Making the SSA–Treasury Do Not Pay data sharing permanent removes a sunset risk that could otherwise disrupt agency payment-integrity workflows, and locks in a durable channel for banks and paying agencies to reconcile beneficiaries against verified death data.