Are You Dead, Or Not

Finding out whether someone is alive or dead isn't all that easy. The Social Security Administration has been having trouble. The inspector general said the agency failed to record more than 1 million deaths in its master file. That means people resting in their graves may be earning benefits. The IG recorded nearly 700 cases in 2010 at a cost of nearly $18 million. That database was the linchpin for other agencies too. They used it to confirm that their benefit recipients were, in fact, alive and should receive a check.