§ 210.15 - Erroneous death information.

(a) In the event that the financial institution is advised that the Federal Government's information that the recipient or beneficiary is deceased is incorrect, or that the date of death is incorrect, the financial institution shall certify the correct information to the Federal Government by one of the following means:

(1) Certify on the “Notice of Reclamation” that the person whose name is reflected on the notice is alive, or that the date of death is incorrect, and that the financial institution took prudent measures to assure that the person was alive or that the date of death was erroneous. Prudent measures to assure that the person was alive include, but are not limited to, the named person providing the financial institution adequate identification, or obtaining through a third person a signed, dated and notarized statement from the named person. Prudent measures to assure the correct date of death include obtaining a death certificate.

(2) If there is any question regarding the sufficiency of the evidence presented to demonstrate that the date or fact of death is incorrect, the individual presenting the evidence should be referred by the financial institution to the agency making the payment, e.g., the Social Security Administration or the Veterans Administration. The agency will certify in writing to the financial institution the corrected information. The financial institution shall then return the agency's certification with the Notice of Reclamation.

(b) If the Federal Government's informaion that the recipient or beneficiary is deceased is in error, the financial institution shall be relieved of its liability, and shall no longer be subject to collection procedures under this part, if an accurate certification in accordance with paragraph (a) of this section is received by the Federal Government, on or with a properly completed Notice of Reclamation, within 60 days of the date of the original Notice of Reclamation to the financial institution.

(c) If the date of the death on the Notice of Reclamation is in error, the financial institution shall be relieved of an appropriate part of its liability if an accurate certification in accordance with paragraph (a) of this section is received by the Federal Government, on or with properly completed Notice of Reclamation, within 60 days of the date of the original Notice of Reclamation to the financial institution. In that event, the financial institution shall adjust the outstanding total on the Notice of Reclamation to exclude benefit payments made before the corrected date of death. The financial institution shall include an explanation of the adjustment with the Notice of Reclamation. If correction of an error relating to the date of death shown on the Notice of Reclamation would result in additional payments being due to the Federal Government, the financial institution shall so notify the Federal Government when it returns the Notice of Reclamation.

(d) If after the financial institution has returned to the Federal Government a completed Notice of Reclamation and had made payment of its liability, the financial institution learns that the fact of death or date of death was in error, it should bring the information to the attention of the agency which made the benefit payments, e.g., the Social Security Administration or the Railraod Retirement Board. The agency will refund to the financial institution, without interest, the appropriate amount of funds paid by the financial institution pursuant to § 210.12, including funds debited from its Federal Reserve account under § 210.12 (c) or (d).