TN 17 (10-11)

A. Policy for adding funeral director reports of death to the numident

1. Deceased not entitled to benefits

Add death data received by SSA from funeral directors via Form SSA-721 (Statement of Death by Funeral Director) to the NUMIDENT if the deceased individual was not a beneficiary.

2. Deceased entitled to benefits

If the deceased individual was a beneficiary, follow instructions in GN 02602.050 reports of death. Follow instructions in GN 02602.051 for processing reports of death using the Death Information Processing System (DIPS).

B. Procedure for adding funeral director reports of death to the NUMIDENT

1. Input

Add the death record for a non-beneficiary to the NUMIDENT using the Death Information Processing System (DIPS).

2. Documentation

Retain the SSA-721 as follows:

• Destroy SSA-721 for a non-beneficiary or non-productive SSA-721, after updating the NUMIDENT with the death information. For instructions on handling the SSA-721 as a lead, refer to GN 00202.020.

• For a beneficiary:

If a beneficiary filed a claim, annotate the Evidence (EVID) screen with “721” and destroy the SSA-721. For more information on the EVID screen, see MSOM EVID 001.003.

NOTE: Add the SSA-721 to the listing in GN 00301.288 in a future transmittal.

If the applicant does not file a claim, process the SSA-721 per GN 02602.050 and keep until we update SSA records. Then destroy the SSA-721.