The Trump administration is making false claims that millions of dead people over 100 years old are still getting Social Security payments.
Recently, both President Donald Trump and billionaire adviser Elon Musk have shared on social media and in press conferences that people aged 100, 200, or even 300 years old are improperly collecting benefits. Musk even called it a "HUGE problem" as his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) digs into federal agencies to fight waste, fraud, and abuse.
While it’s true that some improper payments have been made, including to deceased individuals, the numbers being thrown around by Musk and the White House are exaggerated and misrepresent the actual Social Security data. Here’s the real story:
What did the Trump administration say about payments to centenarians?
On Tuesday, Trump claimed in a press briefing that “we have millions and millions of people over 100 years old” receiving Social Security benefits. He called it “obviously fraudulent or incompetent” and added that removing these people from the system would make Social Security “very powerful.” He even mentioned someone listed as 360 years old.
Musk later posted on his platform X, joking about vampires collecting Social Security and pointing out that “tens of millions” of people marked as alive when they’re actually dead is a “HUGE problem.” He suggested some of these people would have been alive before America even existed.
How big of a problem is Social Security fraud?
According to a July 2024 report from Social Security’s inspector general, from 2015 to 2022, the agency paid out almost $8.6 trillion in benefits. Of that, about $71.8 billion — less than 1% — was in improper payments. The bulk of those were overpayments to living people.
In January, the U.S. Treasury also reclaimed over $31 million in federal payments (not just Social Security) that went to deceased individuals. This was part of a pilot program after Congress allowed the Treasury temporary access to Social Security’s “Full Death Master File,” which includes records going back to 1899. The Treasury estimates it will recover over $215 million over three years with this access.
So are tens of millions of people over 100 years old receiving benefits?
No, they are not.
The confusion comes from Social Security’s outdated software system, COBOL, which has trouble handling missing or incomplete birthdates. As a result, some records default to dates that are over 150 years old. This issue was first reported by WIRED.
In addition, reports from the Social Security Administration’s inspector general in 2023 and 2024 confirmed that around 18.9 million Social Security numbers belong to people born in 1920 or earlier but were not marked as deceased in the system. However, this doesn’t mean these individuals are receiving benefits.
The agency has chosen not to update the database due to the high cost — around $9 million. A 2023 report from the Social Security OIG noted that “almost none” of the people mentioned in the report are currently receiving payments. Plus, as of September 2015, payments automatically stop once someone hits 115 years old.
