# Plain Language Summary: Ending Improper Payments to Deceased People Act

## What This Bill Does

This bill aims to stop the federal government from accidentally sending benefit payments to people who have died. It does this by improving how the Social Security Administration shares death information with a system called "Do Not Pay," which is designed to catch and prevent improper payments across multiple federal agencies. The bill requires the Social Security Administration to share death records with this system so that other agencies can check whether someone is deceased before sending them benefits.

## Who Is Affected

This bill primarily affects:
- **Taxpayers** — by reducing wasted government money spent on payments to deceased individuals
- **Federal benefit recipients** — indirectly, as improved payment accuracy helps preserve program integrity
- **Federal and state agencies** — that distribute benefits like Social Security, Medicare, unemployment insurance, and other programs
- **People incorrectly marked as deceased** — the bill adds protections to ensure agencies are notified if someone is wrongly recorded as dead

## Key Provisions

- **Mandatory data sharing**: The Social Security Administration must provide death information to the "Do Not Pay" system to help prevent improper payments
- **High evidentiary standard**: The Social Security Administration can only mark someone as deceased if it has "clear and convincing evidence" — a strict legal standard that protects against errors
- **Error correction**: If someone is incorrectly identified as deceased, agencies must be notified of the mistake
- **Cost sharing agreement**: The Social Security Administration and the agency operating "Do Not Pay" must agree on how to split the costs of sharing state death data
- **Implementation date**: These changes take effect on December 27, 2026

Ending Improper Payments to Deceased People Act

Kennedy, John

Ending Improper Payments to Deceased People ActThis 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&nbsp;and prevention of improper payments (e.g., payments&nbsp;to deceased individuals).&nbsp;Current law requires the SSA to share its Death Master File with the Do Not Pay system maintained by Treasury for three years.&nbsp;The bill makes this requirement permanent.