SSA-721 Statement of Death by Funeral Director

Form SSA-721 (06-2021)
Discontinue Prior Editions
Social Security Administration

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OMB No. 0960-0142

Statement of Death By Funeral Director
Local Social Security Administration (SSA) Office Address:

For SSA
Use Only
Please complete the required fields (*)
below. Send the completed form to
your local SSA office. Please give
pages 2 and 3 of this form to any
survivors of the deceased.
Note: If reporting the death through
Electronic Death Registration (EDR),
you do not need to send this form to
SSA. We appreciate your assistance
and cooperation.

1.(b) Other Names Used (if
known):

*1.(a) Name of Deceased (First, Middle, Last, Suffix):
*2. Social Security Number (If SSN unknown, please contact local SSA
office to report death)
*3.(a) Date of Death

*3.(b) City/State/Country of Death
(where death occurred)

*4.(a) Date of Birth (if known)

4.(b) City/State/Country of Birth
(if known)

*5. Check (X) whether the
deceased was married
Yes
No

or Surviving Spouse SSN
6.(a) Name of Surviving Spouse - if not applicable, and names of any minor 6.(b)
disabled children (if known)
and SSN of any minor or
disabled adult children (if
known)
7. Address (No. and Street, P.O. Box) of Surviving Spouse - if not applicable,
and address of any minor or
(if known)
disabled children (if known)
City

State

ZIP Code

Telephone Number (if available)

I hereby certify that I am an authorized funeral director and prepared for final disposition the body of the
person named above. I understand this statement may be used in connection with an application for Social
Security benefits. I declare under penalty of perjury that I have examined all the information on this form,
and on any accompanying statements or forms, and it is true and correct to the best of my knowledge. I
understand that anyone who knowingly gives a false or misleading statement about a material fact in this
information, or causes someone else to do so, commits a crime and may be sent to prison, or may face
other penalties, or both.
*Name and Address of Funeral Director or Firm *Signature of Funeral Director or Authorized Representative

*Telephone Number

*Date

FOR SOCIAL SECURITY USE ONLY - DO NOT WRITE IN THIS SPACE

DO/FO Processed (Date):

Form SSA-721 (06-2021)

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A Message From Social Security
Your funeral director is helping the Social Security Administration by providing you this information about
Social Security benefits. If the deceased was receiving benefits, contact us to report the death. If you think
you may be eligible for survivors benefits, contact us to apply.
How Social Security Helps Families
Social Security survivors benefits help ease the financial burden that follows a worker's death. Almost all
children under age 18 will receive monthly benefits if a working parent dies. Other family members may be
eligible for benefits, too.
Anyone who has worked and paid Social Security Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) taxes has
been earning Social Security benefits for his or her family. The amount of work needed to pay survivors
benefits depends on the worker's age at the time of death. It may be as little as 1 to 1.5 years for a young
worker. No one needs more than 10 years.
Who Can Get Survivors Benefits?
Here is a list of family members who are typically eligible for benefits:
• Surviving spouses age 60 or older.
• Surviving spouses at any age if caring for the deceased's child(ren) who are under age 16 or disabled.
• Divorced spouses age 60 or older, if married to the deceased 10 years or more.
• Surviving spouses and divorced spouses age 50 or older, if they are disabled.
• Children up to age 18.
• Children age 18 - 19, if they attend elementary school or high school full time.
• Children over age 18, if they became disabled before age 22.
• The deceased worker's parents age 62 or older, if they were being supported by the worker.
A Special One-Time Payment
In addition to the monthly benefits for family members, we can pay a one-time lump-sum death payment of
$255 to a surviving spouse who was living with the worker at the time of death. If there is none, we can pay
it to:
• A surviving spouse who is eligible for benefits.
• A child or children eligible for benefits.
This payment is not payable if there is no eligible surviving spouse or child.
How to Apply for Benefits
How you sign up for Social Security benefits depends on whether or not you are receiving other Social
Security benefits.
If you aren't receiving Social Security benefits, you can apply for benefits by telephone, by accessing the
Social Security website www.socialsecurity.gov, or by going to any local Social Security office. You may
need some of the documents shown on the list below. Do not delay your application because you do not
have all the information. If you do not have a document you need, the Social Security Administration can
help you obtain it.

Form SSA-721 (06-2021)

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How to Apply for Benefits (continued)
In many situations, if you're already receiving benefits as a spouse on your spouse's record when they pass
away, we can automatically change your payments to survivors benefits once the death is reported to us.
Benefits for any children will also automatically be changed to survivors benefits once the death is reported
to us.
Information Needed
• Your Social Security number and the deceased worker's Social Security number.
• A death certificate. (Generally, the funeral director provides a statement that can be used for this purpose.)
• Proof of the deceased worker's earnings for the previous year (W-2 forms or self-employment tax return).
• Your birth certificate.
• A marriage certificate, if you are applying for benefits as a surviving spouse or divorced spouse.
• A divorce decree, if you are applying for benefits as a divorced spouse .
• Children's birth certificates and Social Security numbers, if applying for children's benefits.
• Your checking or savings account information, for direct deposit of your benefits.
You will need to submit original documents or copies certified by the custodian of records. You can mail or
bring them to the office. Social Security will make photocopies and return the documents to you.
Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
If you are 65 or older, disabled, or blind, and have limited income and resources, ask the Social Security
representative about Supplemental Security Income (SSI). If you receive SSI, you may also qualify for
Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and other social services.
For More Information
For more information, visit Social Security's website at www.socialsecurity.gov. You can also phone the tollfree number at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778). By calling the 800 Number, you can use our
automated telephone services to get recorded information and conduct some business 24 hours a day. You
can speak to a Social Security representative between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Monday through Friday.You can
also write or visit any Social Security office. To find your local office, visit our Social Security Office Locator
at www.socialsecurity.gov.
A Reminder
If the deceased received Social Security benefits, return any checks, which arrive after death to the Social
Security office. If Social Security checks were being directly deposited into a bank account, please notify the
bank of the death.

Form SSA-721 (06-2021)

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Privacy Act Statement
Collection and Use of Personal Information
Section 202 of the Social Security Act, as amended, allows us to collect this information. Furnishing us this
information is voluntary. However, failing to provide all or part of the information may prevent an accurate
and timely determination concerning eligibility for death benefit payments.
We will use the information you provide to establish proof of death for the insured worker; to determine if the
insured individual was receiving any pre-death benefits we need to terminate; and to determine which
surviving family member is eligible for the lump-sum death payment or other death benefits. We may also
share the information for the following purposes, called routine uses:
• To applicants or claimants, prospective applicants or claimants (other than the data subject), their
authorized representatives or representative payees to the extent necessary to pursue Social
Security claims, and to representative payees, when the information pertains to individuals for whom
they serve as representative payees, for the purpose of assisting the Social Security Administration
in administering its representative payees in performing their duties as payees, including receiving
and accounting for benefits for individuals for whom they serve as payees; and
• To Federal, State, or local agencies (or agents on their behalf), for administering income or health
maintenance programs including programs under the Social Security Act.
In addition, we may share this information in accordance with the Privacy Act and other Federal laws. For
example, where authorized, we may use and disclose this information in computer matching programs, in
which our records are compared with other records to establish or verify a person’s eligibility for Federal
benefit programs and for repayment of incorrect or delinquent debts under these programs.
A list of additional routine uses is available in our Privacy Act System of Records Notices (SORN) 60-0058,
Master Files of Social Security Number (SSN) Holders and SSN Applications, as published in the Federal
Register (FR) on December 29, 2010, at 75 FR 82121; 60-0090, Master Beneficiary Record, as published in
the FR on January 11, 2006, at 71 FR 1826; and 60-0103, Supplemental Security Income Record and
Special Veterans Benefits, as published in the FR on January 11, 2006, at 71 FR 1830. Additional
information, and a full listing of all of our SORNs, is available on our website at www.ssa.gov/privacy.
Paperwork Reduction Act Statement - This information collection meets the requirements of 44 U.S.C. §
3507, as amended by section 2 of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. You do not need to answer these
questions unless we display a valid Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number. We estimate
that it will take about 4 minutes to read the instructions, gather the facts, and answer the questions. Send
only comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection, including suggestions
for reducing this burden to: SSA, 6401 Security Blvd, Baltimore, MD 21235-6401.