Social Security Updating Beneficiary Records for Individuals Aged 100 and Over

The U.S. Social Security Administration announced on March 5 that it has made significant strides in addressing the issue of potentially deceased individuals being included in its records.

The agency reported, “We have made substantial progress in identifying and rectifying beneficiary records for individuals aged 100 and older.” They added, “The data cited in the media pertains to individuals who lack an associated date of death in their records. Even though these individuals may not be receiving benefits, it is crucial for the agency to keep precise and comprehensive records.”

Trump noted the presence of “alarming levels of incompetence and possible fraud in the Social Security program for our seniors.”

He mentioned that government databases included 3.47 million Social Security beneficiaries aged 120 to 129 years, 3.5 million individuals aged 140 to 149, and over 130,000 individuals above 160 years old.

“We have a healthier population than I imagined,” he remarked humorously, adding, “money is being disbursed to many of them.”

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Additionally, there were 1,039 individuals recorded between the ages of 220 and 229, and one person was noted as being over 360 years old, a fact Trump highlighted as “more than 100 years older than our country.”

“A substantial amount of money is disbursed to individuals because payments just continue without oversight, which adversely affects Social Security and our nation,” he asserted. “We will investigate where this money is going, and it won’t be a pleasant discovery.”

Acting Social Security Commissioner Lee Dudek expressed gratitude to Trump for “bringing attention to these discrepancies during his speech last night to a joint session of Congress.”

“We are dedicated to eliminating fraud, waste, and abuse in our programs while actively addressing the inconsistencies related to missing death dates,” he added.

The agency mentioned it follows well-established practices to identify potential deceased individuals. For example, it gathers information from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to identify those who have not utilized their Medicare Part A or Part B for at least three years—a method to ascertain whether they are aged 90 or older and evaluate their ongoing eligibility.

“[SSA] attempts to conduct interviews with these individuals to confirm they are still living,” the agency stated. “If someone is identified as deceased, payment is immediately halted, and any suspected fraud is reported to SSA’s Office of the Inspector General.”

SSA Under Trump

The question of deceased individuals potentially receiving Social Security payments has been previously addressed by both Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk, a senior adviser to the former president.

He asserted that these individuals “are not necessarily receiving benefits” and expressed confidence in the audits conducted by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

“The majority of the fraud appears to stem from individuals being marked as alive in the Social Security records, allowing them to access disability, unemployment, fraudulent medical payments, and various other resources,” he noted.

Efforts to address aged records are among several measures the SSA is implementing under the Trump administration.

These provisions were withdrawn following new legislation signed in January, enabling eligible beneficiaries to receive retroactive payments dating back to January 2024.

This week, the SSA reported it has already distributed over $7.5 billion in retroactive payments to more than 1.12 million individuals.

These savings are anticipated to come from areas such as “payroll, information technology, contracts and grants, real property savings, and other efficiencies through new, rationalized approaches to printing, travel, and purchasing policies.”

“The [SSA] remains committed to fulfilling President Trump’s promise to shield American taxpayers from unnecessary expenditures,” the agency concluded.