Important changes are being made to this important tool for genealogical researchers. The Social Security Administration (SSA) in the United States created the Social Security Death Index (SSDI) beginning around 1936. It is a database of all persons receiving Social Security who have died. It is searchable by the public.
Genealogists use this index to search for relatives who have died. The data up until now has included that from state death records as well as other sources.
Effective November 1, 2011 state death records will no longer be used to add records to the database. The SSA receives death reports from family members, funeral homes, hospitals, States, Federal agencies, postal authorities and financial institutions.
It should be noted that the absence of a particular person from this file is not proof that the individual is alive. Further, in some instances it is possible the person has been added to the index in error. The SSA does not guarantee the accuracy of the database. Still it is a useful tool, but genealogists must remember to cross-check the record for accuracy.
As a result of this change the SSA is also removing about 4.2 million records because of inaccuracies. On a yearly go forward basis they expect the number of records added to the database to decrease by about 1 million.
The other way for genealogists and the public to get death data is from State vital statistics offices where the event occurred; however, indexes are not available in most cases.
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