Treasury blocks $175 million in payments to deceased recipients after new data-sharing law

The Treasury Department reported blocking $175 million in federal disbursements to deceased individuals, covering roughly 13,500 payments in FY2026. This follows the enactment of the Ending Improper Payments to Deceased People Act, signed in February 2026, which made permanent the sharing of the Social Security Administration’s Death Master File with Treasury—a data-sharing arrangement that started in December 2023. Treasury screened more than 1.1 billion payments totaling about $3.7 trillion, and now 99% of federal programs have access to the “Do Not Pay” database, a sharp rise from 4% at FY2025’s end.

The agency also increased its record checks to over 2.3 billion, nearly four times the previous year, and introduced safeguards that verify bank-account ownership and taxpayer identification numbers, fully operational as of September 30. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the measures shift the focus from “pay and chase” to prevention of improper payments.