The Social Security Administration (SSA) continues to push back against recent claims that tens of millions of deceased individuals are still receiving Social Security benefits.
“Of these millions of death reports received each year, less than one-third of 1% are erroneously reported deaths that need to be corrected.”
March 16 SSA press release
On Sunday, SSA put out a press release providing an “update” about its death record, which has been much maligned by President Donald Trump and Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) leader Elon Musk in recent weeks.
“Social Security announced today that more than three million deaths are reported to the Social Security Administration each year and explains that the agency’s records are highly accurate. Of these millions of death reports received each year, less than one-third of 1% are erroneously reported deaths that need to be corrected,” the release states.
Since the controversy arose, SSA officials have emphasized that their fraud detection and verification systems are among the most rigorous in government, ensuring in the vast majority of instances that payments cease upon a beneficiary’s death. While occasional errors can occur, the agency insists that reports of widespread fraud are exaggerated and misleading.
The White House issued a “Fact Check” article on March 11 saying that the Social Security Administration made an estimated $72 billion in improper payments between 2015 and 2022. What the White House release failed to include is that the same report said the $72 billion amounts to less than 1% of benefits paid out during that time period. Further, not all of that amount was because of fraud, and all but $23 billion was able to be recovered.
A week ago in an interview on Fox Business, Musk continued to push theories about Social Security fraud. “The waste and fraud in entitlement spending—which is most of the federal spending is entitlements—so, that’s, like, the big one to eliminate. That’s the, sort of half-trillion, maybe $6-700 billion a year.”
Musk also said there were “20 million people who are definitely dead marked as alive in the Social Security database.” According to a March 13 Fortune article, DOGE now has 10 staffers at the SSA as the Trump White House looks for evidence to support its claim that there could be millions of dead people receiving public benefits.
But Acting Commissioner of the Social Security Administration Lee Dudek has rejected claims about widespread payments to dead people. “The reported data are people in our records with a Social Security number who do not have a date of death associated with their record. These individuals are not necessarily receiving benefits,” Dudek said in a Feb. 19 statement.
The SSA previously said it does not pay out benefits to people who are 115 years or older, a policy in effect since September 2015. It also said that instances where a birth or death date is missing in the records does not mean the person is receiving benefits.
In its March 16 release, SSA noted that deaths are reported to Social Security primarily from individual states, but also from other sources, including family members, funeral homes, Federal agencies, and financial institutions. In a 2008 audit report, the Inspector General noted that, “SSA receives most death reports from funeral homes or friends/relatives of the deceased. SSA considers such first party death reports to be verified and immediately posts them to the Death Master File.”
Instances when a person is erroneously reported as deceased to Social Security can be devasting to the individual, spouse, and dependent children, the SSA release continued. “Benefits are stopped in the short term which can cause financial hardship until fixed and benefits restored, and the process to prove an erroneous death will always seem too long and challenging.”
If a person suspects that they have been incorrectly listed as deceased on their Social Security record, SSA said they should contact their local Social Security office as soon as possible, which they can locate at www.ssa.gov/agency/contact/. They should be prepared to bring at least one piece of current (not expired) original form of identification. Social Security takes immediate action to correct its records and the agency can provide a letter that the error has been corrected that can be shared with other organizations, agencies, and employers.
SEE ALSO:
• What Experts are Saying About the State of Social Security
• Social Security Administration Cutting 7,000 Jobs in DOGE-Initiated Restructuring
• Updated 2026 Social Security COLA Forecasts Now Calling for 2.2% Bump
Veteran financial services industry journalist Brian Anderson joined 401(k) Specialist as Managing Editor in January 2019. He has led editorial content for a variety of well-known properties including Insurance Forums, Life Insurance Selling, National Underwriter Life & Health, and Senior Market Advisor. He has always maintained a focus on providing readers with timely, useful information intended to help them build their business.
