WASHINGTON — The recently appointed acting head of the Social Security Administration (SSA) clarified on Wednesday that deceased individuals who are 100 years old or older are “not necessarily receiving benefits.” This statement challenges previous assertions made by high-profile figures, including former President Donald Trump and entrepreneur Elon Musk, who claimed that millions of centenarians were improperly obtaining payments from the agency.
Lee Dudek, the new acting commissioner appointed by Trump, responded to misinformation circulated on social media and during press conferences, where both Trump and Musk alleged that numerous people aged 100, 200, or even 300 years were fraudulently receiving Social Security benefits. While acknowledging that there have been instances of improper payments, Dudek emphasized that the claims made by these individuals greatly exaggerated the actual figures related to Social Security records.
During a press briefing in Florida, Trump stated that there were “millions and millions of people over 100 years old” receiving Social Security, calling the situation fraudulent or incompetent. He noted that removing these supposed beneficiaries from the system would significantly strengthen Social Security for those aged 70, 80, and 90. He also mentioned an individual on record as being 360 years old, continuing to voice these inaccuracies at a conference in Miami the following day.
Elon Musk, on his social media platform X, commented on the situation as well, suggesting that perhaps “Twilight” was real, and that many vampires might be collecting Social Security. His posts expressed concern over substantial numbers of individuals listed as “ALIVE” in the Social Security database when they were actually deceased, suggesting some may have lived before America was established.
So, is it true that tens of millions of individuals over the age of 100 are receiving benefits? The answer is no. A part of the misunderstanding stems from the outdated software system utilized by Social Security, which employs the COBOL programming language, creating a default setting for missing or incomplete birth dates. As a result, some records may reference ages exceeding 150 years.
Reports from the SSA’s inspector general have indicated that as of early 2023, there were approximately 18.9 million Social Security numbers associated with individuals born in 1920 or earlier that lacked proper death annotations. However, having these entries does not mean these individuals were actively receiving benefits. The agency opted not to correct this database due to the estimated cost of over $9 million necessary for an update.
According to a July 2023 report from Social Security’s Office of Inspector General (OIG), almost none of the individuals identified in that report currently receive SSA payments, and as of September 2015, the agency had already implemented a system that automatically halts payments to anyone over 115 years old.
Acting SSA Commissioner Dudek, who has taken over following Michelle King’s resignation, released a statement reaffirming the agency’s dedication to transparency. He addressed the recent claims about benefits going to those over 100 years old, noting that confusion was likely caused by the database’s default settings. He clarified that individuals in the records without a date of death aren’t necessarily receiving benefits.
How significant is the issue of Social Security fraud? According to a July 2024 report from the OIG, between fiscal years 2015 and 2022, the agency disbursed nearly $8.6 trillion in benefits, with less than 1% attributed to improper payments. Most of these erroneous payments were actually overpayments to living individuals. Earlier this year, the U.S. Treasury recovered more than $31 million in federal payments made erroneously to deceased persons as part of an initiative to regain improper payments identified after Congress allowed the Treasury access to the SSA’s records.
Experts have raised concerns regarding how misinformation about Social Security payments can shape public perception. Chuck Blahous, a senior researcher at the Mercatus Center, noted that while rooting out fraud is important, the Social Security system is not where the highest levels of error occur, especially compared to other federal programs. Similarly, Sita Nataraj Slavov, a professor at George Mason University, warned that such misleading claims could falsely simplify the complexities of the government’s financial challenges, obscuring the reality of needed reforms.
In response to the ongoing criticism, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt pointed to the OIG report, underscoring the agency’s efforts to identify and rectify improper payments while aiming to safeguard taxpayer interests. The conversation about Social Security continues as agency officials work to address misinformation while maintaining accurate operations.
