A 77-year-old man on Long Island is being denied Social Security benefits because the government said he died years ago, even though he is very much alive. That’s not the only roadblock he has faced as he looks to break through the bureaucracy to get the benefits he needs. NBC New York’s Sarah Wallace reports.
Wilfredo Pagan is dead. Or at least, so says the Social Security Administration.
In reality, the 77-year-old Long Island resident is very much alive, and has been looking for several years to collect Social Security benefits. But because the administration has him listed as deceased, they say there are no benefits he is entitled to receive.
"I am suffering because everyday I say, 'Why do I deserve what happens to me?'" Pagan said. "It’s a nightmare...I think they want to kill me."
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WATCH HEREPagan’s health has been rapidly declining in recent years, with his medical bills and others piling up at home — right alongside the repeated notices denying him benefits.
At his small store in Far Rockaway, Queens, Pagan makes a modest living selling spiritual candles and religious statues. He and his family told NBC New York they have been battling for the past few years to prove that he is in fact alive, and in desperate need of benefits he’s earned.
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SIGN UP "They say, we’ll do an investigation, and we’ll call you. And — nothing," said Deana Bain, his goddaughter, said of the Social Security Administration.
Sadly, that has not been the only obstacle Pagan has faced. He said when he originally went to the Social Security office near his home in Feeport, he brought his Social Security card. He claims it was confiscated by a worker who tried telling him it was fake.
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"I am a fraud? That’s what hurts me," said Pagan.
He gets emotional talking about the insulting suggestion, adding no authorities followed up on the fraud allegation. He and his family said they provided his birth certificate and other documentation showing his Social Security number was legitimate. But they claim no one in the office listened.
"They don’t come out and tell you anything anymore, because I don’t know if they realized, 'Yeah we kind of messed up,'" Bain told News 4. "I am worried about him going to the hospital and they won’t take him because he owes so much."
Adding a bit of insult to injury, Pagan had no trouble obtaining a U.S. passport from the federal government in 2025, with his Social Security number listed on the application.
Even after that, he continued to receive death notices.
"Everything has been blocked. And I’m not sure exactly why, but they just refuse to do anything," Bain said. "Any avenue he tried to go through, Social Security blocked it."
As if the family didn't need any more confusion to deal with, Bain said one point they were told someone else was getting Pagan’s benefits through his Social Security number. No further explanation was given.
"They told him there was someone in the Dominican Republic receiving benefits because the person died who was using his Social," Bain explained.
"I’m entitled to that money. They don’t want to give it," said Pagan.
After News 4 reached out to Social Security, a representative contacted the family. A spokesman said they could not comment specifically on the Pagan case, but the family now has a scheduled appointment in the Freeport office Wednesday.
Pagan could be owed thousands of dollars in back benefits.
