New Social Security Chief Debunks Myths: No Millions of Deceased Receiving Benefits!

Recently, the head of the Social Security Administration (SSA) clarified some big misunderstandings about payments to people over 100 years old. Lee Dudek, the acting commissioner, stepped in to address claims made by former President Trump and billionaire Elon Musk on social media. They said that millions of people over 100, even some who were supposedly 200 or 300 years old, are receiving benefits. Dudek insisted this isn’t true.

While some deceased individuals might have received payments, the figures mentioned by Trump and Musk are exaggerated. So, what’s the real story?

Are there really millions of centenarians getting benefits? The answer is no. The confusion comes from how the SSA’s software works. It uses a programming language called COBOL, which can lead to errors in recording birthdates. If a birthdate is missing, the system can default to an old date, giving the impression that someone is over 150 years old.

Reports have shown that around 18.9 million Social Security numbers belong to people born in 1920 or earlier but aren’t listed as deceased. However, this does not mean they are receiving benefits. Records that lack a death date do not indicate the person is alive or still getting payments. In fact, the SSA has systems in place to pause payments to anyone over 115 years old.

Dudek emphasized this point, stating, “Individuals recorded without a death date are not necessarily receiving benefits.” The SSA aims to maintain transparency and manage its records correctly.

How serious is the issue of Social Security fraud? According to a recent report, the SSA paid about $8.6 trillion in benefits from 2015 to 2022. However, only about $71.8 billion of that—less than 1%—was in improper payments. Most of these errors were overpayments to living individuals.

In a move to recover lost funds, the U.S. Treasury managed to claw back over $31 million paid to deceased individuals as part of a pilot program that accesses the SSA’s death records. This program is expected to recover even more funds in the future.

What about misinformation on Social Security? Experts have pointed out that while it’s good to tackle fraud, the claims made by Trump and Musk could lead people to think the solutions to Social Security’s challenges are simple. Misleading statements could create a false belief that the financial issues can be resolved easily without real changes, such as higher taxes or reduced benefits.

The White House has also responded, pointing to past investigations that uncovered substantial improper payments. They emphasized the ongoing work to eliminate waste and protect taxpayer dollars.