In a recent statement, the newly appointed head of the Social Security Administration (SSA), Lee Dudek, clarified that claims regarding deceased centenarians regularly receiving benefits are misleading. Dudek, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, responded to assertions made by Trump and entrepreneur Elon Musk, who suggested that tremendous numbers of individuals aged 100 and beyond are improperly obtaining Social Security payments.
While it is acknowledged that some erroneous payments have occurred, including those issued to deceased individuals, the quantities cited by Trump and Musk lack accuracy and distort the actual Social Security data. Trump claimed during a Florida press briefing that there are “millions and millions” of centenarians on Social Security rolls, labeling these payments as “obviously fraudulent or incompetent.” He went on to assert that removing these individuals from the system would significantly strengthen Social Security for those aged 70-90, although his references included fictional ages such as 200 and even 360 years old.
Musk, engaged in a government efficiency initiative aimed at eradicating fraud, also made dramatic claims on his platform X, questioning the existence of “vampires collecting Social Security” and underscoring the absurdity of the situation by suggesting that some listed as “alive” had lived before the founding of the United States.
Despite these sensational claims, it is important to note that tens of millions of individuals over the age of 100 are not receiving benefits. The confusion stems from the outdated database systems used by the SSA, which operate on COBOL, a programming language that lacks adequate date handling capabilities. Thus, records with missing birthdates may appear incorrectly, showing individuals born over 150 years ago, as reported by WIRED. Furthermore, insights from the SSA’s inspector general revealed significant deficiencies in accurately updating death records, with nearly 18.9 million Social Security numbers of individuals born in 1920 or earlier not marked as deceased. However, this does not imply these individuals are receiving benefits.
The agency has opted against updating these records due to the high associated costs, estimated at over $9 million. Moreover, according to a report from July 2023, the inspector general noted that “almost none of the numberholders discussed in the report currently receive SSA payments,” with the agency ceasing benefits for anyone older than 115 years since September 2015.
In a press announcement, Dudek reiterated the SSA’s commitment to transparency regarding Social Security records. He clarified that the individuals referenced in discussions about payment among centenarians do not necessarily equate to those actually receiving benefits. He expressed confidence in the SSA’s ability to continue serving the American public effectively.
The issue of Social Security fraud was given further context in a report from the SSA’s inspector general, revealing that from fiscal years 2015 to 2022, approximately $8.6 trillion in benefits were disbursed, including about $71.8 billion categorized as improper payments—less than 1% of the total, primarily made in overpayments to currently living recipients.
Additionally, recent actions by the U.S. Treasury in January tracked down over $31 million in incorrectly issued payments to deceased individuals, which officials acknowledged was likely the beginning of larger recoveries, aided by access to the SSA’s comprehensive death records database.
Experts expressed concerns over public misconceptions stemming from the exaggerated claims made by figures like Musk and Trump. Chuck Blahous, a strategist at the Mercatus Center, reaffirmed the importance of addressing erroneous payments but warned against mistakenly attributing financial woes to Social Security. He remarked that while improper payments exist, Social Security’s inefficiency is not among the highest in the federal landscape, especially compared to Medicaid.
Similarly, Sita Nataraj Slavov, a public policy professor, cautioned that such claims could lead the public to believe that fixing Social Security’s financial issues would be straightforward, obscuring the reality that significant sacrifices may still be necessary for long-term solvency.
In response to the criticisms and investigations into improper payments, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt pointed back to the findings by the SSA’s inspector general, highlighting ongoing efforts by the agency to combat inefficiencies and safeguard taxpayer funds.
