Uncovering the Truth: The Facts Behind Trump’s Allegations of Dead People Receiving Social Security

In his recent speech to Congress, Donald Trump made a claim that many find hard to believe: he said millions of dead people are still collecting Social Security benefits. This statement is not just wrong; it’s frustrating, especially for those like me who have spent years studying and defending this essential program.

The root of the issue lies in the fact that while it’s true some benefits might be sent out mistakenly, it’s not nearly on the scale Trump suggests. Families often delay notifying the Social Security Administration (SSA) when someone dies, which can lead to checks being sent for a short time after a person’s passing. However, most of these payments stop within a month or two, and families usually return any money paid in error.

A key reason why payments might go to deceased individuals is the lack of a national death registry in the U.S. Creating such a system has been met with resistance, particularly from Republicans who see it as government overreach. Ironically, they often end up blaming the very government systems they hindered for problems like this.

We don’t need to rely solely on the SSA’s reports to debunk Trump’s claim that millions of dead people are cashing in on Social Security. Simple math can help clarify things. The SSA provides reliable data on the number of beneficiaries by age and the amounts they receive. When we tally these figures, we find that all reported payments correspond to those who are alive and eligible to receive benefits.

Let’s break it down. The SSA can identify living beneficiaries and knows how much they receive. We can compare SSA data with the Census, which tracks population demographics. For instance, we can easily find out how many people are aged 70-74 or 75-79 and see that these numbers match up with SSA records of beneficiaries within those age ranges.

We also understand how much a person in these age groups should be receiving based on Social Security’s established benefit formulas. Surveys also show what people report receiving. This all suggests that the SSA’s numbers on living beneficiaries and their benefits are largely accurate.

Since the total payments align with the government’s reported spending on Social Security, there is simply no room for fictitious payments to deceased individuals. If there were any hidden payments going to dead people, they wouldn’t show up in the budget — they wouldn’t be reported at all. Yet, instead of recognizing this, some continue to allege there’s widespread fraud.

It seems that repeating this “Social Security zombie” lie serves the same purpose as other groundless claims, like the idea that the 2020 election was stolen. It’s Trump making his own reality insistent, regardless of the truth.

It’s alarming that many in the Republican Party support such baseless statements without question. Unfortunately, the media’s response to these claims has weakened as well. When a former president makes outrageous claims about a program that millions rely on for their livelihoods, it should be big news, but it often isn’t treated that way.

This originally appeared on Dean Baker’s Beat the Press blog.