Treasury Blocks $175 Million in Payments to Deceased Recipients

The Treasury Department successfully blocked $175 million in federal payments intended for deceased recipients in fiscal year 2026, marking a substantial increase from the $99 million identified in the previous reporting period. This expansion is part of the Trump administration's broader initiative to combat fraud, waste, and abuse across federal programs.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that the department screened over 1.1 billion federal payments, totaling approximately $3.7 trillion, in FY2026. The screening process identified and halted about 13,500 payments that would have gone to individuals no longer eligible due to death.

"Treasury continues to transform how the federal government protects taxpayer dollars by using better data, stronger controls, and advanced technology to stop fraud and improper payments before money goes out the door," Bessent stated in a press release. He added that Treasury has built and deployed new safeguards that verified $3.7 trillion in federal payments and increased access to the "Do Not Pay" tool from 4% of programs to 99%.

This initiative is a fulfillment of a March 2025 executive order from President Trump, which directed his administration to enhance safeguards against improper federal payments. The "Do Not Pay" program now provides broader access, enabling agencies to utilize necessary data to prevent fraudulent disbursements.

In addition to blocking payments to deceased individuals, Treasury also screened over 2.3 billion records against "Do Not Pay" data sources in FY2026, nearly four times the volume from the prior fiscal year. This increase is attributed to the program's expansion across the federal government, alongside new payment verification efforts and additional screenings for states.

Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana praised the efforts, stating, "I applaud Secretary Bessent for slamming the door on these fraudsters before they can pick taxpayers’ pockets." Kennedy has been a long-time advocate for giving the Treasury greater access to Social Security death records. A 2020 law temporarily authorized the Social Security Administration to share its full Death Master File with the department, a program that began in December 2023. President Trump later signed Kennedy's Ending Improper Payments to Deceased People Act into law in February 2026, making this data access permanent.

Treasury has also implemented new safeguards to verify that bank accounts belong to the intended recipients and to check Taxpayer Identification Numbers. These checks became fully operational on September 30 and allow the department to flag and return payments that fail verification before they are disbursed.

The figures released follow a July announcement where Treasury reported screening over 885 million payments worth approximately $2.77 trillion and flagging more than 4,900 payments totaling about $99 million tied to deceased recipients.