My wife of 56 yrs died on Jan 13 of this year, she received about 500 mo. from SS. I received a form from SS to file for the $255.00 death allowance, I filled it out and returned it. On march 1 $25,178.00 was put in my checking account by social security and at the same time my son who lives 350 miles from me, and is on SS disability had $4,722.00 put in his checking account, also by Social Security. We don't know what happened to bring this on, we are totally confused. I have tried to call SS and got a recording that they are busy and to call back at a later date...I don't know what to do.

Hi,

I'm sorry for your loss.

The only possibilities that I can imagine are that the payments you received are either some type of back pay or a mistake. Like you, I would want an explanation before doing anything with the money. Social Security should send you a letter of explanation within about 10 days after the payment was received, but even that may not shed much light on the reason for the payment. You may just need to continue trying to reach Social Security by phone, or you could try visiting an office in person.

Best, Jerry