4. Returns
Green Book
4-3
A Guide to Federal Government ACH Payments
codes, the RDFI will satisfy both the requirement to return post-death payments that it receives
after actual or constructive knowledge of the death, and the requirement to notify the agency of the
death of the recipient.
RDFIs are able (but not required) to use Return Reason Code R17 – (File Record Edit Criteria /
Entry with Invalid Account Number Initiated Under Questionable Circumstances / Return of
Improperly-Initiated Reversal) to indicate that the RDFI believes an ACH Credit containing invalid
account information was initiated under questionable circumstances. This use of R17 is optional at
the discretion of the RDFI. Those RDFIs that elect to use R17 for this purpose are required to use the
description “QUESTIONABLE” in the Addenda Information field of the return. This description in an
R17 return differentiates returns that appear to be suspicious to the RDFI from those due to routine
account number issues.
Note: The existing Nacha-coordinated opt-in programs with federal and state tax agencies that allow
RDFIs to return questionable tax refund ACH credits using R17 will continue unchanged. These
programs will not be impacted by this additional optional use of the R17 Return Reason Code. Fiscal
Service and the IRS participate with Nacha in this program for IRS tax refund credit entries returned
as questionable. The Return Reason Code R17 will also continue to be used in its standard form for
returns involving required field errors. For more information-
https://www.nacha.org/content/irs-
refund-return-opt-program
Death Notification Entry
The Death Notification Entry (DNE) allows federal agencies to notify financial institutions of a
benefit recipient’s death. Only an agency of the federal government may originate a DNE. Currently,
SSA, OPM, and RRB originate DNEs. Other federal benefit agencies may originate DNEs at a future
date. The DNE is a zero-dollar entry with an addenda record. The addenda record contains the date
of death, the deceased individual’s SSN, and the amount of the next scheduled benefit payment.
Upon receipt of a DNE, the financial institution is encouraged to “flag” the deceased recipient’s
account to prevent accepting further post-death federal benefit payments. See below form common
errors with flagging.
Example: Flagging Joint Accounts
A married couple own a joint account. One spouse dies. A DNE is sent from the federal benefit
agency to the RDFI. The RDFI receives the DNE and the account is “flagged”. The surviving spouse
becomes eligible for surviving spousal’s benefits, and a benefit payment is sent to the joint account.
Since the account is “flagged,” the RDFI improperly returns the surviving spousal’s benefits with a
reason code of R15 (beneficiary or account holder deceased). The agency receives the returned
benefit and processes an improper death termination for the surviving spouse. The agency also
sends an improper DNE for the surviving spouse to the RDFI.
Solution: To protect joint account holders, the account should be “flagged” with another piece of
identifying information (i.e., deceased name, SSN). This allows the joint account holder to continue
receiving their own payments. If this is not possible, a new account with a new Direct Deposit
authorization should be established.
Example: Flagging Erroneous Report of Death
A recipient is receiving benefits. An erroneous report of death is received by the federal benefit
agency for the recipient. A DNE is sent from the agency to the RDFI and the account is “flagged”. The
recipient discovers the problem and presents proof to the agency and the RDFI of the error in the
fact of death. The RDFI fails to remove the flagging from the account. The agency resends the
benefit payment to the recipient’s account, which is still “flagged”. The RDFI returns benefits with a