“The big thing is, how many of these people got paid? Where are they getting paid? If that’s the case, it’s a massive fraud,” Trump stated.
Why Musk is wrong about Social Security data
Despite Musk’s allegations, Social Security experts say he is misinterpreting the data. The Social Security Administration (SSA) manages multiple databases, and the one Musk appears to reference—called Numident—contains records of everyone who has ever had a Social Security number, not just those receiving benefits.
Kathleen Romig, director of Social Security and disability policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, dismissed Musk’s claims as absurd.
“When they’re throwing around numbers like tens of millions of dead people getting Social Security, well, there are only 67 million total recipients. What are they talking about? Half the people are actually dead? The numbers are so ridiculous. It’s not true,” Romig told ABC News.
Numident database
Numident includes many individuals who died long ago but lack an officially recorded date of death, particularly those from before electronic records were implemented. This issue has been acknowledged in government audits for years.
A 2023 inspector general report found nearly 19 million people born before 1920 still listed in the system without death records. However, this does not mean they are receiving benefits. The SSA has not prioritized updating this data since it does not impact actual Social Security payments.
According to SSA figures, only 0.1% of the 67 million Social Security recipients are over 100 years old. The agency also has safeguards to prevent deceased individuals from collecting benefits—payments automatically stop at age 115 unless the person actively uses Medicare or provides proof of life.
Real issue
While Musk and Trump suggest a massive fraud scandal, experts point out that the real issue is overpayments to living beneficiaries, not payments to the deceased.
A July 2024 inspector general report found that between 2015 and 2022, the SSA made $71.8 billion in improper payments. However, these errors—impacting roughly 1% of payments—were mostly due to administrative mistakes and eligibility miscalculations, not fraud.
