Mark Twain once turned the premature report of his death in the 1890s into one of history’s greatest quips, but at the Social Security Administration the mistaken reporting of American’s deaths is no laughing matter.

The agency’s internal watchdog sharply rebuked SSA workers for mistakenly reporting that 12,054 Americans had died in 2025 who actually didn’t, then failing to follow the proper procedures in repairing the damage far too often.

While the mistaken death reports were a small fraction (0.22%) of the 5.6 million deaths SSA reported last year, the number of errant deaths that weren’t properly rectified was alarmingly high at 45%, the Office of Inspector General reported last week.

In at least one percent of the errant cases, the agency didn’t even restore Social Security benefits to the still-living citizens, adding financial injury to insult.

The watchdog office said the ramifications of not fully rectifying an errant death report could be devastating to those Americans.

“A living person who is incorrectly reported as deceased can suffer consequences when a Federal agency takes an action in error," the report said. “Further, the release of incorrect death reports to the public can pose an even greater threat to Americans’ economic lives.”

Among the repercussions, the report cited, were “bank account closure, denial of credit, difficulty in securing employment, and tax refund delays.”

You can read the full report here.

The OIG audit found a laissez faire approach with SSA workers’ following the clear procedures when someone is errantly reported as deceased, creating a customer nightmare.

“When technicians do not document on the EVID why they removed deaths from SSA’s records, the Agency does not have information to assist employees in responding to beneficiaries’ inquiries or addressing future actions on the beneficiaries’ records, such as subsequent death reports,” the report noted. 

“SSA also cannot identify trends or root causes for why it recorded living beneficiaries as deceased so it can develop corrective actions to prevent future errors.”

The watchdog urged SSA leadership to take corrective actions, including educating their employees.

“Strengthening guidance and ensuring consistent documentation are essential for SSA to enhance its accountability, transparency, and service to beneficiaries,” it said. “Therefore, we suggest SSA clarify all policies and procedures related to when and where its employees must document the reasons for death removals and any associated actions taken to remove incorrect death records.”