Seattle man wrongly declared dead loses Social Security benefits

Ned Johnson, 82, from Seattle, was mistakenly declared dead by the Social Security Administration (SSA), leading to the loss of his benefits. He discovered the error when his wife received a condolence letter from their bank in February. After nearly three weeks of trying to resolve the issue, Johnson visited his local SSA office, where he proved he was alive. His bank reinstated some funds, but he still has not received his Social Security payments for February and March. The SSA acknowledged that such errors are rare, occurring in less than 0.3% of death reports. They advised anyone in a similar situation to visit their local office with valid identification to correct their records.