Social Security Administration sets record straight on dead people getting benefits

The Social Security Administration has pushed back against claims that it is issuing benefits to millions of deceased individuals, stating that reporting errors represent only a small fraction of overall records.

In a statement released over the weekend, the agency said it receives more than three million death reports each year and maintains a high level of accuracy in its records. According to the agency, incorrect death reports account for a negligible minority of all cases.

“Of these millions of death reports received each year, less than one-third of 1 percent are erroneously reported deaths that need to be corrected,” the agency said Sunday.

The statement follows recent comments from President Donald Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who both alleged that a large number of deceased individuals remain in the Social Security database and continue to receive benefits. Musk, who has described Social Security as a “Ponzi scheme,” has pledged to root out fraud in the system, while Trump has claimed that payments are being made to many individuals who are no longer alive, though those assertions have since been called into question.

Reporting errors and their impact

The SSA said it gathers death reports from multiple sources, including state agencies, family members, funeral homes, and financial institutions. Most reports come from funeral homes or relatives, which the agency considers verified and immediately adds to its Death Master File.

While cases of incorrect death reports are few and far between, the agency said they can be disruptive for the individuals involved as well as their families, who may depend on those payments to make ends meet.

“Instances when a person is erroneously reported as deceased to Social Security can be devastating to the individual, spouse, and dependent children. 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,” the agency said.

One survey of seniors by The Senior Citizens League found two-thirds (67 percent) rely on Social Security for more than half of their income, including 27 percent who said it's their sole income stream. 

"Seniors’ dependence on Social Security and its often-meager COLAs means that many find themselves under intense financial stress," TSCL said in November.

Putting a face to the risk in the Pacific Northwest, the Seattle Times reported the case of Leonard Johnson, an 82-year-old senior whose wife received a notification from their bank saying he had been flagged as deceased, and the SSA has requested for his benefits to be clawed back. He was ultimately able to "resurrect" himself, though it reportedly took multiple calls a day for nearly three weeks.

The SSA is encouraging individuals who believe they have been mistakenly listed to visit their local Social Security office with a valid form of identification. The agency said it takes immediate action to correct such errors and provides a letter confirming the correction, which can be used to update records with other organizations and employers.

Fraud investigations and workforce reductions

The scrutiny over Social Security’s records comes as Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency has reportedly assigned a team to investigate claims of fraudulent payments to deceased individuals. As one Fortune article has it, 10 DOGE staffers have been deployed to the SSA to search for proof that millions of dead people could be getting public benefits.

The agency has previously stated that it does not issue benefits to individuals aged 115 or older, a policy enacted in 2015. It has also clarified that missing birth or death dates in records do not necessarily indicate that benefits are being paid.

The discussion over Social Security’s accuracy comes at a time of internal restructuring within the agency. Last month, the agency announced plans to reduce its workforce by approximately 7,000 positions, or about 12 percent of its staff, and to consolidate its regional offices from ten to four. One internal memo suggests an even larger downsizing push, with as many as 30,000 employees reportedly at risk.