Elon Musk started a row earlier this week with claims that millions of dead Americans are still receiving Social Security benefits. However, experts say he is misreading government records and spreading misleading information, reports ABC news.
The claims first emerged last week when Musk, standing alongside US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office, spoke about “crazy things” he had found in the Social Security system. He alleged that the database contained records of people who were “150 years old.”
The tech billionaire later doubled down on social media, posting screenshots of what appeared to be government data and suggesting there could be “millions” of people fraudulently listed as alive in the Social Security system.
“Maybe Twilight is real, and there are a lot of vampires collecting Social Security,” Musk quipped in one post, referencing the popular vampire series where the blood-sucking immortals live among humans.
Trump also backed Musk’s claims during a news conference at Mar-a-Lago, reading from a list of figures that supposedly supported the idea of fraud in the system.
“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 said.
Why Musk is wrong about Social Security data
Despite Musk’s claims, Social Security experts say he is misreading the data. The Social Security Administration (SSA) has several databases, and the one Musk seems to be citing—called Numident—records everyone who has ever had a Social Security number. However, it does not show who is actually 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 are 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 was quoted as saying to ABC News.
Numident database
Numident includes many people who have long since passed away but don’t have a recorded date of death, particularly those who lived before electronic records were introduced. This is not new information—government audits have long acknowledged that the system contains outdated data.
A 2023 inspector general’s report found nearly 19 million people born before 1920 listed in the system without death records. However, this does not mean they are receiving benefits. The SSA has long deemed it unnecessary to update this data because it does not affect actual Social Security payments.
According to SSA statistics, only 0.1% of the 67 million Social Security recipients are over the age of 100. The agency has multiple safeguards to prevent deceased individuals from collecting benefits. For example, payments are automatically stopped at age 115 unless the recipient 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 in the Social Security system is overpayments to living beneficiaries, not payments to the dead.
A July 2024 inspector general report found that from 2015 to 2022, the SSA made $71.8 billion in improper payments. However, these errors—affecting roughly 1% of payments—were largely due to administrative mistakes and eligibility miscalculations rather than fraud.