Recent claims by President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk suggest that millions of deceased individuals—some allegedly over 300 years old—are receiving Social Security benefits. However, these statements misrepresent Social Security data, and there is no evidence to support the idea that tens of millions of dead people are collecting checks.
Where Do These Claims Come From?
During a press briefing on Wednesday, Trump said, "We have millions and millions of people over 100 years old" receiving Social Security benefits, calling it an issue of fraud or incompetence. Similarly, Musk posted on X a screenshot that claims the existence of people listed as alive in Social Security's records despite their extreme ages. In another post, he also joked that perhaps vampires were collecting benefits.
Don't Miss:
- The average American couple has saved this much money for retirement — How do you compare?
- The average 401(k) balance soars to a record-breaking high – Here's how to know if your nest egg is keeping pace.
However, Social Security's new acting commissioner, Lee Dudek, clarified that while records do include Social Security numbers for individuals over 100 without a recorded date of death, this does not mean they are receiving benefits. These records often reflect outdated or incomplete information rather than actual fraudulent payments.
Understanding the Numbers
The Social Security Administration does acknowledge that improper payments occur, but they account for a small fraction of overall benefits. A 2024 report from Social Security's inspector general found that between 2015 and 2022, SSA paid out $71.8 billion in improper payments—less than 1% of total benefits distributed in that period. Most of these errors were overpayments to living individuals, not fraudulent payments to the deceased.
In January, Department of Treasury pilot program recovered $31 million in various federal payments—including Social Security payments—made to deceased individuals, according to the Associated Press. The program gives the department temporary access to the SSA's "Full Death Master File." Over the three-year access period, which runs from December 2023 through 2026, the Treasury expects to recover roughly $215 million. This is a far cry from the "millions and millions" of fraudulent payments Trump and Musk have claimed.
Trending: Can you guess how many Americans successfully retire with $1,000,000 saved? The percentage may shock you.
The COBOL Factor: Why Some Records Show People Over 150
A likely explanation for some of the extreme ages appearing in Social Security databases is the SSA's reliance on COBOL, a 60-year-old programming language. Wired reported that because COBOL lacks a proper date type, when birthdates are missing or incomplete, the system may default to a reference date—sometimes set over 150 years ago. This quirk has led to instances where Social Security records list individuals as being well over 100 years old, even if they are no longer alive or never received benefits.
Additionally, a 2023 report from the SSA's inspector general found that the agency had not updated its database to properly mark all deceased individuals due to the high cost of doing so. However, almost none of these individuals were receiving payments.
Is Social Security Fraud a Serious Problem?
Experts agree that while any improper payment is an issue, Social Security fraud is not a major driver of the program's financial challenges. Chuck Blahous, a senior research strategist at the Mercatus Center, told AP that Social Security's error rates are relatively low compared to other government programs, such as Medicaid.
Sita Nataraj Slavov, a public policy professor at George Mason University, told AP, "The real concern is that this claim may mislead people into thinking there's an easy fix to Social Security's financial problems — that we can somehow restore solvency without making sacrifices through higher taxes or lower benefits. This is simply not true."
The Bottom Line
While some Social Security records list individuals over 100 years old as alive, this does not mean that millions of dead people are fraudulently receiving benefits. In fact, in 2013, the SSA began efforts to halt payments to any beneficiary as soon as they reached 115 years old in their system.
The claims made by Trump and Musk are largely based on outdated records and programming quirks, not actual fraud on the scale they suggest. Social Security does have improper payments, but they represent a small percentage of overall benefits and are not the main financial issue facing the program today.
Read Next:
- ‘Which Bucket Do I Draw From First?’ Suze Orman Explains To 67-Year-Old The Best Order For Tapping Into Her Retirement Accounts
- Many are using retirement income calculators to check if they’re on pace — here’s a breakdown on what’s behind this formula.
© 2025 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Trade confidently with insights and alerts from analyst ratings, free reports and breaking news that affects the stocks you care about.
