The Numerical Identification Files (NUMIDENT), 1936–2007, series contains records for every Social Security number (SSN) assigned to individuals with a verified death or who would have been over 110 years old by December 31, 2007. There are three types of entries in NUMIDENT: application (SS-5), claim, and death records. A NUMIDENT record may contain more than one entry.
Information contained in NUMIDENT records includes: each applicant's full name, SSN, date of birth, place of birth, citizenship, sex, father's name, mother's maiden name, and race/ethnic description (optional). NUMIDENT includes information regarding any subsequent changes made to the applicant's record, including name changes and life or death claims.
The death records in NUMIDENT do not include any State reported deaths in accordance with the Social Security Act section 205(r). There are 72,182,729 SS-5 records entries; 25,230,486 claim record entries; and 49,459,293 death record entries.
See https://catalog.archives.gov/id/12004494 for more information.
Related Data:
Visit the CenSoc Project for public micro datasets linked to NUMIDENT: https://censoc.berkeley.edu/.
Geographic Coverage: United States
Time Period: 1936 – 2007
Universe: This series contains records for every social security number (SSN) assigned to individuals with a verified death or who would have been over 110 years old by December 31, 2007.
Data Type: administrative records data
Collection Notes: The agency created and maintained these records for the purpose of tracking the earnings of U.S. workers and determining benefit entitlements as established under the Social Security Act of 1935.
See https://catalog.archives.gov/id/12004494 for more information.
Data Source: View help for Data Source See https://catalog.archives.gov/id/12004494 for more information.
Unit(s) of Observation: A record for every social security number (SSN) assigned to individuals with a verified death or who would have been over 110 years old by December 31, 2007.
The following publications relate in an unspecified way to the data in this project.
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Hollingsworth, Alex, Krzysztof Karbownik, Melissa A. Thomasson, and Anthony Wray. “The Gift of a Lifetime: The Hospital, Modern Medicine, and Mortality.” American Economic Review 114, no. 7 (July 1, 2024): 2201–38. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.20230008.