The Social Security Administration refuted assertions made by President Trump and Elon Musk that it was providing benefits to millions of people unnecessarily. dead people , and stated on Sunday that fewer than one out of every three hundred death claims are fraudulent.
The organization, whose most confidential information is under review by what Musk calls his "Department of Government Efficiency," stated that it processes over three million death reports annually and maintains "extremely precise" records. This administration manages Social Security entitlements for more than 68 million individuals.
"The agency stated in a press release that out of all the millions of death reports they receive annually, fewer than 0.3% are incorrect reports that require correction," according to their statement.
The agency's statement follows comments from both Trump and Musk claiming that deceased individuals remain listed in the Social Security database and continue to receive Social Security benefits.
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"Payments are being made to numerous individuals, and we're currently investigating," Trump stated during a recent address to Congress. In contrast, Musk has not commented on this matter. referred to Social Security as a "Ponzi scheme" and vowed to eliminate fraud at the agency.
As stated in a report by Fortune Currently, DOGE has 10 employees working with the agency to gather evidence supporting their assertion that millions of deceased individuals might still be receiving public assistance.
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The Social Security Administration, known as the SSA, mentioned that death reports mainly come to them from state authorities, along with various entities like families, morticians, federal organizations, and banks.
According to this, SSA gets most of its death notifications from funeral homes or the deceased’s acquaintances/family members. The agency regards these initial-party death reports as confirmed and promptly adds them to the Death Master File, 2008 audit report as per the Office of the Inspector General.
"Cases where someone is incorrectly marked as dead with Social Security can have devastating consequences for the individual, their spouse, and dependents. This leads to an immediate halt in benefits, causing financial difficulties that persist until corrections are made and payments resume. The procedure to demonstrate such an incorrect death declaration often feels excessively lengthy and arduous," according to the agency.
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The agency stated that if someone believes they've been wrongly marked as deceased in their Social Security records, they ought to reach out to their nearby Social Security office promptly. Individuals can find their closest Social Security location online. ssa.gov/agency/contact And make sure to bring at least one valid, up-to-date form of identification.
The Social Security Administration stated that it promptly works to rectify any discrepancies in their records. They also mentioned that they can issue an official document confirming the correction of errors, which individuals may then present to various entities such as other organizations, government agencies, or employers.
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The Social Security Administration had earlier stated that it does not provide benefits to individuals aged 115 or above, a rule implemented in September 2015. Additionally, they noted that the absence of a birth or death date in their records doesn’t imply that someone is still claiming benefits.
Last month, Social Security revealed a significant overhaul, stating they plan to eliminate approximately 7,000 positions, which equates to around 12% of their staff, and decrease their regional offices from 10 down to 4.
