WASHINGTON — The U.S. government has successfully recovered over $31 million in Social Security payments that were mistakenly issued to deceased individuals, an action one official described as “just the tip of the iceberg.”

This recovery was part of a pilot initiative lasting five months, initiated after Congress granted the Department of Treasury temporary access to the Social Security Administration’s comprehensive “Full Death Master File.” This access is part of the omnibus appropriations bill passed in 2021, allowing the Treasury to utilize a database that is considered the most extensive federal record of deceased individuals, featuring over 142 million entries dating back to 1899.

The Treasury anticipates that its recovery efforts will lead to reclaiming upwards of $215 million throughout its three-year access period, which is set to extend from December 2023 through 2026.

“These findings are merely the beginning,” stated David Lebryk, the Treasury’s Fiscal Assistant Secretary, in a public announcement. He encouraged Congress to grant the Treasury continued, unrestricted access to the death master file, claiming that such moves would drastically diminish instances of fraud, enhance the integrity of programs, and provide greater protection for taxpayer funds.

The undertaking highlights the government’s ability to curb fraud and waste, which aligns with one of Donald Trump’s campaign pledges.

The president-elect has appointed two notable business figures—Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy—to head the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a newly established task force aimed at devising strategies for reducing the federal workforce, eliminating programs, and easing federal regulations, all part of Trump’s “Save America” agenda for his anticipated second term.

A spokesperson from the Trump transition team has not yet replied to inquiries regarding whether the new administration plans to continue these initiatives or if it will seek to extend the Treasury’s temporary access to the death file.