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Trump Misinterprets Social Security Data, Exaggerates Scale of Improper Payments
President Donald Trump recently made misleading claims about Social Security benefits, suggesting that “millions and millions of people over 100 years old” may be improperly receiving benefits. His statements, made during a February 18 press briefing, stem from information shared by Elon Musk but significantly overstate the actual scope of the issue.
In reality, approximately 89,000 people aged 99 or older received Social Security benefits last year, according to official data. While improper payments remain a legitimate concern for the Social Security Administration (SSA), the scale is far smaller than what Trump suggested.
The issue gained attention on February 11 when Musk, serving as a senior adviser to the president, spoke during the signing of an executive order establishing the “Department of Government Efficiency” initiative. During his remarks, Musk claimed a “cursory examination of Social Security” data had identified “people in there that are 150 years old.”
“Now, do you know anyone who’s 150? I don’t, OK. They should be in the Guinness Book of World Records, they’re missing out,” Musk said. “So, that’s a case where I think they’re probably dead, is my guess, or they should be very famous.”
Days later, Musk shared a spreadsheet on his social media platform X showing that Social Security databases categorize nearly 21 million people over the age of 99 as alive. This data point became the foundation for Trump’s subsequent claims about “millions and millions” of centenarians potentially receiving improper benefits.
However, reports from the SSA’s Office of Inspector General paint a more nuanced picture. A July 2023 audit found that while 18.9 million people with Social Security numbers born in 1920 or earlier had no record of their deaths in the system, only about 44,000 of these individuals (0.2%) were still receiving benefits.
For context, the Pew Research Center estimates there are approximately 101,000 Americans aged 100 and older in 2024, making it clear that the vast majority of the outdated records do not translate to improper payments.
The discrepancy largely stems from outdated record-keeping. The Office of Audit report explains: “We believe it likely SSA did not receive or record most of the 18.9 million individuals’ death information primarily because the individuals died decades ago — before the use of electronic death reporting.”
A more precise assessment of improper payments was provided in a November 2021 audit, which concluded that the “SSA issued approximately $298 million in payments to about 24,000 deceased beneficiaries in suspended payment status.” While significant, this figure represents a fraction of the Social Security system that distributes benefits to approximately 54 million retirement beneficiaries.
Lee Dudek, the acting commissioner of the SSA, clarified the misunderstanding on February 19, stating: “The reported data are people in our records with a Social Security number who do not have a date of death associated with their record. These individuals are not necessarily receiving benefits.”
Some media reports have suggested the data anomalies could be attributed to quirks in COBOL, the decades-old programming language still used in parts of the SSA’s database. However, the Office of Audit reports make no mention of coding errors, instead attributing the inaccuracies to the agency’s failure to “annotate death information on the Numident records of numberholders who exceeded maximum reasonable life expectancies.”
The federal government has implemented measures to address improper payments, including automatically designating individuals aged 115 and older as deceased. Additionally, a Treasury Department pilot program launched in 2023 has already recovered $31 million in improper federal payments to deceased individuals and projects to recoup $215 million by December 2026.
While improper Social Security payments remain a legitimate concern worthy of attention, the data suggests the problem is far less widespread than recent political rhetoric implies. The total rate of improper Social Security payments was 0.84%, constituting $71.8 billion between fiscal years 2015 and 2022, with most of these being overpayments to living people rather than payments to deceased individuals.
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7 Comments
It’s good to see the article fact-checking the claims made about Social Security payments to the deceased. Ensuring the program functions as intended is critical, but the scale of the problem appears to have been overstated. I hope this leads to constructive solutions.
Verifying data and statistics is crucial, especially when it comes to sensitive social programs like Social Security. I appreciate the effort to correct the exaggerated claims, though the issue of improper payments still warrants attention and reform.
It’s concerning to hear about potential misuse of Social Security funds, but the scale appears to have been overstated. I hope the administration and SSA can work together to address any legitimate issues while ensuring benefits reach the rightful recipients.
Wow, the claims about 150-year-olds receiving benefits seem incredibly far-fetched. I’m glad the article provided more context and corrected the exaggerations. Maintaining the integrity of Social Security is crucial, so I hope this leads to constructive reforms.
While any improper Social Security payments are problematic, the numbers cited seem to be greatly inflated. I appreciate the effort to fact-check and provide a more accurate picture of the issue. Transparency and accountability are vital for such an important program.
It’s concerning to hear about potential Social Security overpayments, though the scale seems to have been exaggerated. The administration should investigate this carefully and take appropriate action to address any issues, while ensuring benefits are delivered properly to eligible recipients.
Fact-checking is important, as it’s easy for misleading claims about government programs to spread. While improper payments are an ongoing challenge, the numbers cited seem to be inflated. I hope the SSA can provide more transparency on the actual scope of the problem.