For pension plans, a missing mortality event can become an expensive problem.
When participant mortality goes unidentified, benefit payments may continue for weeks, months, or even years. Beyond the financial impact, plans can face recovery efforts, record corrections, audit documentation, and additional administrative work.
That’s why timely, accurate mortality data matters.
Abacus Intel’s MVerify® helps pension plans identify mortality events sooner by comparing participant records across multiple trusted data sources. Our experts deliver mortality event data with 99% accuracy, every day.
Better Data Prevents Improper Payments
The importance of complete mortality data isn’t unique to pension administration.
In a February 2026 report, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) highlighted the success of the Department of the Treasury’s Do Not Pay initiative after it expanded access to the Social Security Administration’s Full Death Master File. During the program’s first year, Treasury identified, prevented, or recovered $113.5 million in improper payments, producing an estimated 23-to-1 return on investment. Treasury estimates the initiative will generate more than $337 million in net benefits over three years.¹
The report demonstrates a simple but important lesson: more complete mortality information leads to fewer improper payments.
While the GAO’s findings focus on federal payment programs, the same principle applies to pension plans. The sooner mortality events are identified; the better equipped administrators are to prevent overpayments and maintain accurate participant records.
No Single Mortality Source Tells the Whole Story
Many organizations still rely heavily on a single mortality source, such as the Social Security Administration’s Limited Access Death Master File (LADMF), periodic death audits, or notifications from family members.
Each of these sources provides valuable information, but none is complete on its own.
For example:
- Family members may not notify a pension plan immediately following a participant’s passing.
- Obituaries may be published before official records become available or not published at all.
- State mortality records are reported on different timelines and vary by jurisdiction.
- Government databases may not immediately reflect every mortality event.
In fact, the GAO has repeatedly encouraged federal agencies to strengthen improper payment prevention by using more comprehensive mortality data rather than relying on a single source of mortality information.²
The Cost of Delayed Mortality Identification
When a mortality event isn’t identified promptly, the consequences extend far beyond an overpayment. It also adds on intense administration load, including preparing documentation for auditors, correcting participant records, and contacting family members.
The experience of other organizations illustrates the impact. In 2025, an audit of the Richmond Retirement System found more than $550,000 in retirement benefits had been paid to 44 deceased retirees, with many payments continuing for months after the participant’s passing. The audit recommended strengthening mortality verification tools to reduce future overpayments.³
How MVerify® Creates a More Complete Picture
Abacus Intel’s MVerify® is built around a multi-source approach to mortality verification. Participant records are compared against multiple trusted sources, including the SSA Limited Access Death Master File, state mortality records, obituary monitoring, identity databases, and proprietary datasets.
This comprehensive approach helps organizations:
- Reduce the risk of improper benefit payments
- Improve participant data integrity
- Reduce manual research and recovery efforts
- Strengthen audit readiness
- Increase confidence in participant records
Better Data Leads to Better Decisions
Accurate mortality verification isn’t simply about identifying who has passed away, it’s about giving pension administrators the information they need to protect plan assets and serve participants efficiently.
As the GAO’s findings demonstrate, organizations achieve better outcomes when they use comprehensive mortality data.
Better mortality data means fewer gaps, less administrative work, and stronger participant records. Request a demo today.
References
- U.S. Government Accountability Office. Improper Payments: Treasury’s Use of the Social Security Administration’s Full Death Master File Shows Positive Results. GAO-26-107181. February 2026. https://files.gao.gov/reports/GAO-26-107181/index.html
- U.S. Government Accountability Office. Improper Payments: Strategy and Additional Actions Needed to Help Ensure Agencies Use the Do Not Pay Working System as Intended. GAO-15-482T. March 2015. https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-15-482t
- Axios Richmond. Audit: Richmond Retirement System Paid $550K to Dead Retirees. May 12, 2025. https://www.axios.com/local/richmond/2025/05/12/richmond-retirement-payments-dead-people-audit