Michael Jackson in the SSDI

Wow! That didn't take long. Tom Kemp points out that Michael Jackson's entry has already appeared in GenealogyBank's copy of the Social Security Death Index. Details may be found at http://bit.ly/15CeRV.

Comments

[Susan Park]

Does that mean he was receiving SS at age 50? If yes, was he receiving SS disability payments? It's hard to imagine how he could qualify as he seemed to be able to perform the usual duties of his chosen profession. Is this real or is it just a joke I didn't get?

[Larry Parker]

No, being listed in any SS death index just means they are dead and they had a SS number. Whether or not the person was receiving benefits is a separate matter.

[Dick Eastman]

This is real.

In the 1960s and 1970s, the Social Security Death Index only listed the deaths of people who were drawing Social Security benefits when they died. In most cases, these were senior citizens.

By the 1990s, that changed to include the deaths of all Americans, regardless of age or occupation. You can now find deaths of two-year-olds in the SSDI. Michael Jackson's death should be listed in the SSDI.

- Dick Eastman

[Michelle Thoele]

Susan, you bring up an interesting point about SS disability (I, too, being a former SSA Disability adjudicator, saw the acronym SSDI and thought Disabilty Insurance at first). Theoretically, MJ would have been financially eligible to draw disability at any point when he was not physically "working", i.e. recording an album, making a video, or on tour, or engaging in promotional appearances, regardless of whether he was recieving royalty payments for past work, as these are not considered Significant Gainful Activity, in SSA parlance. In addition to qualifiying financially, one must qualify medically, of course. Medically, it is quite possible given his frail health throughout the years, both mental and physical, that he could have qualified medically at some point. This has nothing to do with the original posting about the death index, but I thought you might find it interesting.

[Gordon]

Footnote.com also updates the SSDI every week. It also allows for photos, stories, facts, and links to be added.

http://www.footnote.com/page/93926255_michael_joseph_jackson/

[Gloria]

SSDI is Social Security DEATH INDEX