The Social Security Death Index (SSDI) is a database of death records created from the United States Social Security Administration's Death Master File Extract. Most persons who have died since 1936 who had a Social Security Number (SSN) and whose death has been reported to the Social Security Administration are listed in the SSDI. For most years since 1973, the SSDI includes 93 percent to 96 percent of deaths of individuals aged 65 or older. It is frequently updated; the version of June 22, 2011 contained 89,835,920 records.
Unlike the Death Master File, the SSDI is available free from several genealogy websites. The SSDI is a popular tool for genealogists and biographers because it contains valuable genealogical data.
Read more about Social Security Death Index: Social Security Death Index Data, Criticisms, See Also, References
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