Elon Musk Sparks Debate On Social Security Data After Report Finds Millions Of Alive Centenarians In America

Tesla Inc. TSLA CEO Elon Musk, who serves on the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) under the President Donald Trump administration sparked a discussion about Social Security Administration (SSA) data accuracy on Tuesday, sharing statistics showing millions of Americans over 100 years old listed as alive in the system.

What Happened: University of Michigan economics professor Justin Wolfers provided context, citing a July 2023 SSA Inspector General audit report that identified approximately 18.9 million number holders born before 1920 without death information in their records.

The audit report revealed that 98% of these cases receive no payments, with the anomaly largely attributed to pre-electronic record-keeping era deaths. The SSA has declined previous recommendations to update these records, citing implementation costs between $5-10 million and limited benefit to current programs.

“Should government databases be cleaner? It’s a cost-benefit question,” Wolfers noted on X, suggesting the issue might not be a major concern given the low rate of active payments.

Musk, who shared age distribution data showing over 4.7 million individuals aged 100-109 in the system, responded with humor, referencing the “Twilight” vampire series and suggesting supernatural explanations for the longevity statistics.

One thing I've learned to do when I have questions about social security number holders who are age 100 or older is to look up the SSA Inspector General audit report, "Numberholders Age 100 or Older Who Did Not Have Death Information on the Numident."https://t.co/AdWTV8eIPV https://t.co/PdCtdCIlsG
— Justin Wolfers (@JustinWolfers) February 17, 2025

Why It Matters: The discussion comes amid broader concerns about federal data management. The SSA has defended its position, arguing that updating non-beneficiary records would divert resources from current operations. The agency maintains that other entities can independently assess presumed death based on age.

The debate highlights ongoing challenges in modernizing legacy government systems while balancing resource allocation and operational priorities. Despite the apparent discrepancies, the audit confirms that actual improper payments remain minimal among these historical records.

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