Every couple of years, I like to cover a topic that confuses almost everyone. And that confusion comes at a time when they have so many other things on their minds. I'm talking about handling the Social Security affairs of someone who has died.

Of course, there are many different potential scenarios involving the death of someone. But for today's column, I will be primarily dealing with the one I most commonly hear about from my readers. It involves a husband and wife, both of whom were getting Social Security benefits — and the husband dies.

The first issue I will cover is what to do with the final Social Security check for the deceased. And to do so, I must start out by making three points. First, Social Security checks are paid one month behind. So, for example, the check you get in December is the benefit payment for November.

Second, the law says you must be alive for an entire month to be due a Social Security check for that month.

And third, Social Security benefits have never been prorated. People don't like this rule because the Social Security check for the month of death must be returned.

To help explain how this plays out, I'll use an example. Mary's husband, Fred, died on Nov. 28. Mary would not be able to cash Fred's November Social Security check (paid in December) even though Fred was alive for 28 days of the month.

But there is a flip side to this lack of a proration rule. If Fred did die on Nov. 28, Mary would be due widow's benefits for the whole month of November, even though she was a widow for three days of the month.

. And as I've explained many times in my column, the lack of proration can also help out when someone first starts getting Social Security. For example, if Fred took benefits at age 66 and he turned 66 on April 30 of some past year, he would have received a check for the whole month of April even though he was 66 for only one day of the month.

So to repeat, continuing with my example of Mary and Fred, after Fred dies, Mary must return the Social Security check for the month of death. But that's only if she got the check in the first place.

I added that qualifier because there is a very good chance the check won't even show up in their bank account. As you may have heard, there are all kinds of computer-matching operations that go on between various government agencies and banks. So if the Treasury Department learns of a person's death in time, they won't even issue the Social Security benefit. Or, if the check was issued, the bank will likely intercept the payment and return it to the government before it even hits a checking account. In other words, Mary usually doesn't have to worry about returning any Social Security checks. It's almost always done for her.

There can be a little twist to this scenario, though. For example, let's say that Fred died on Dec. 2. And let's further say that his Social Security check was normally sent to him on the third of each month. In other words, Fred died just before his Social Security check was deposited into his bank account. Because he was alive the whole month of November, that means Fred was due the money from that November check (paid on Dec. 3). And now Mary, as his widow, is due that money. Sometimes, bank officials will sort of just wink at Mary and let her keep the proceeds of that last Social Security check. But if they follow the letter of the law, that November Social Security benefit would have to be returned to the Social Security Administration. Then it will be reissued to Mary in her name. (There is a form that needs to be filled out to get that to happen. Mary would have to talk to an SSA rep about that.)

So far, I've been talking about dealing with the last Social Security check that was sent to the deceased. Now let's talk about getting any Social Security widow's benefits that will be due. I'll continue to use the example of Mary and Fred.

If Mary were getting only Social Security spousal benefits on Fred's record (meaning she didn't have her own Social Security), then the Social Security Administration would simply automatically convert her from spousal benefits to widow's benefits once she notifies them of his death. And she will also get the one-time $255 death benefit.

If Mary were getting her own Social Security benefits, and if that benefit were less than her husband's rate, then she would be due the difference in widow's benefits. But she will have to call Social Security at 800-772-1213 to file for those benefits and the one-time death benefit.

However, if Mary were getting her own Social Security and if she were under her full retirement age when Fred dies, then Mary would have some options. She could choose to file for reduced widow's benefits immediately, or she could choose to wait until her full retirement age and get the full 100% widow's rate.

If Mary was getting her own retirement benefit before Fred died, and if that benefit was higher than Fred's benefit, then Mary wouldn't be due any widow's benefits. But she would be due that one-time $255 death benefit.

Throughout this column, I have been talking about a situation involving a husband and wife getting Social Security benefits, in which the husband dies. And I did that because that is the way these situations normally happen. But of course, there are many other potential scenarios.

If we have a married couple and the wife dies first, then the same rules described in this column apply to the surviving husband.

If a person who was getting Social Security benefits dies, but doesn't have a spouse, then someone needs to notify the SSA of the death and follow the rules explained above about returning the last Social Security check. And the one-time death benefit would not be payable.

If a person who was not yet getting Social Security dies, then of course, there are no benefits to stop. But if that person left a spouse or minor children, then contact the SSA because survivor benefits may be payable.

If you have a Social Security question, Tom Margenau has two books with all the answers. One is called "Social Security — Simple and Smart: 10 Easy-to-Understand Fact Sheets That Will Answer All Your Questions About Social Security." The other is "Social Security: 100 Myths and 100 Facts." You can find the books at Amazon.com or other book outlets. Or you can send him an email at [email protected]. To find out more about Tom Margenau and to read past columns and see features from other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

Photo credit: Vidar Nordli-Mathisen at Unsplash