Outdated records don’t necessarily indicate fraudulent Social Security payments to deceased individuals, SSA’s new chief said.
The new head of the Social Security Administration (SSA) on Wednesday addressed speculations that millions of deceased individuals over the age of 100 may be receiving Social Security benefits, stating that they are likely exaggerated.
Acting SSA Commissioner Lee Dudek, appointed recently by President Donald Trump, issued a statement on Feb. 19, clarifying concerns raised by Trump, DOGE frontman Elon Musk, and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. The three had said in social media posts and press briefings that SSA records list individuals as being 100, 200, or even 300 years old—raising questions about potential improper payments.
Dudek said he wants to “acknowledge recent reporting about the number of people older than age 100 who may be receiving benefits from Social Security,” adding that 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, while expressing confidence in the audits conducted by DOGE, which Trump has tasked with uncovering any fraud, waste, and abuse in government spending.
“I am confident that with DOGE’s help and the commitment of our executive team and workforce, that Social Security will continue to deliver for the American people,” Dudek said.
Trump said at a Florida press briefing on Feb. 18 that DOGE’s findings suggest “millions and millions” of centenarians may be receiving benefits improperly. This is “obviously fraudulent or incompetent,” he said.
“If you take all of those millions of people off Social Security, all of a sudden, we have a very powerful Social Security with people that are 80 and 70 and 90, but not 200 years old,” the president said.
“It’s a very positive thing” that DOGE had shed light on the potential issue, Trump said. “We’re figuring it out.”
Musk echoed these concerns on social media.
“Maybe Twilight is real, and there are a lot of vampires collecting Social Security,” he joked in one post. In another, he wrote: “Having tens of millions of people marked as ‘ALIVE’ when they are definitely dead is a HUGE problem. Some of them would have been alive before America existed as a country. Think about that for a second.”
Bruh, if I wanted to rummage through random personal shit, I could have done that at PAYPAL. Hello???
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 17, 2025
Having tens of millions of people marked in Social Security as “ALIVE” when they are definitely dead is a HUGE problem.
Obviously.
Some of these people would have been alive… https://t.co/L17rSBR1Tb pic.twitter.com/6hBqAJ5TbF
By Tom Ozimek
