Is Social Security money going to 'millions' of people listed as old as 149?
(NEXSTAR) – In an apparent example of government waste, Trump drew laughs during his congressional address Tuesday when he alleged that the Social Security Administration (SSA) had millions of beneficiaries well over 100 years of age.
"Three-point-five million people from age 140 to 149," Trump said, claiming that "money is being paid to many of them."
Perhaps even more shocking was Trump's assertion that "one person is listed at 360 years of age," but is it true that actual taxpayer dollars are being wasted on impossibly-old recipients?
As it turns out, the databases may list those people, but that does not mean they are getting paid benefits.
"The data reported in the media represent people who do not have a date of death associated with their record," the SSA wrote. "While these people may not be receiving benefits, it is important for the agency to maintain accurate and complete records."
Part of the confusion comes from Social Security’s software system based on the COBOL programming language, which doesn’t use a specific format for dates. This means that some entries with missing or incomplete birthdates will default to a reference point of more than 150 years ago. The news organization Wired first reported on the use of COBOL programming language at the Social Security Administration.
Additionally, a series of reports from the SSA’s inspector general in March 2023 and July 2024 state that the agency has not established a new system to properly annotate death information in its database, which included roughly 18.9 million Social Security numbers of people born in 1920 or earlier but were not marked as deceased. This does not mean, however, that these people were receiving benefits.
The agency decided not to update the database because of the cost to do so, which would run upward of $9 million. As of September 2015, the agency automatically stops payments to people who are older than 115 years old.
The SSA says it also crosschecks data with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to see if recipients younger than 115 and those with incomplete death reports have not used Medicare Part A or B for three or more years.
SSA says it prioritizes those who are 90 or older, are currently in pay status and living in the United States to verify if they are still eligible for Social Security benefits. The agency says it will reach out to those individuals to verify if they are still alive, and, if they are not, it stops payments and "reports any suspicions of fraud to SSA’s Office of the Inspector General."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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