Social Security Addressing Aged Records
Reading Time: 1 MinuteLast Updated: March 5, 2025
The Social Security Administration (SSA) today shared its significant progress in identifying and correcting beneficiary records of people 100 years old or older. The data reported in the media represent people who do not have a date of death associated with their record. While these people may not be receiving benefits, it is important for the agency to maintain accurate and complete records.
“I thank President Trump for highlighting these inconsistencies during his speech last night to a joint session of Congress,” said Lee Dudek, Acting Commissioner of Social Security. “We are steadfast in our commitment to root out fraud, waste, and abuse in our programs, and actively correcting the inconsistencies with missing dates of death.”
The agency follows long established program integrity initiatives that identify people who have a higher likelihood of being deceased due to their age or incomplete death reports. For example, SSA receives data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services of individuals who have not used Medicare Part A or Part B for three or more years. SSA uses the data as an indicator to select and prioritize cases of individuals age 90 or older, who are currently in pay status and living in the United States, to determine continued eligibility for Social Security benefits. The agency attempts to conduct an interview with these individuals to verify they are still alive. If the agency identifies someone is deceased, it immediately stops payment and reports any suspicions of fraud to SSA’s Office of the Inspector General.
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Deserie P.
They can pay dead people but let someone die 2 days before the month ends and they take the whole check back. Payments are always a month behind. Husband passed on the 29th of January and they took the whole check. Pro-rate it I understand but the whole check! Who keeps that money
Lyle W.
That still doesn’t answer the key question as to why people over 110 years old are still on the SS data base?????????
How about some significant information rather than burecratic BS to cover up incompetence.
Michael J.
Thanks for addressing this issue
Vicki H.
My mother passed on the May 30, and, before her funeral had even occurred, the automatic deposit of her June Social Security payment had been rescinded. I certainly had not even thought about notifying Social Security at that time. As an IT professional for 30+ years, I find it hard to believe that your system does not have a program that automatically flags records of people over one hundred years of age. As President Trump mentioned yesterday, there are thousands of records for people who are obviously deceased still on the rolls. This is a travesty. I truly believe that there are deceased people on the rolls for whom payments are being made. Yet, my mother’s payment was removed while I was still making plans for her funeral. Strange how that worked…
Bruce Z.
Why would believe checks are being sent to these flawed accounts? And furthermore that anyone is cashing them? I have not heard of one single actual account of that happening. This is a lot of grandstanding about a trivial paperwork issue.
Dave S.
So the President was incorrect in stating that we had hosts of highly aged persons fraudulently receiving benefits. Thank you for the clarification.
Freeze
Grow a set of balls and stand up to that orange ass.
Patricia V.
Hello:
Note sure if Social Security beneficiaries 100 years or older are collecting benefits under another name, possibly responsible for draining the treasury system for honest retirees for SSA, SSDI and SSI.
I also want to express my interest in something that may or may not be related to the above comment. It is about our future payments of Social Security to honestly earned benefits.
I am very concerned about the federal government’s situation with Social Security that for over 67 million citizens is their main and likely their only source of income to keep them out of poverty. However, speculation has stated that the US Treasury system expects to run out of funds by the year 2034, or even earlier. I have read that benefits will still be paid out but reduced by 23%, leaving just 77% for monthly payments. That means my income may be reduced in my sole person household. I depend so much on my full hard-earned SSA benefits that even a small decrease may cause me to lose my shelter in the Bay Area, risking me homelessness with no local family or other households to turn to.
Please let me state an opinion to help balance the federal budget. Those people who earn more than $400,000 should have their Social Security benefits phased out to zero by their income levels. I am aware that earnings toward Social Security payroll stop at around $168,000.
Because income levels work with paying progressively larger into Medicare Part B, a similar principal should be applied to Social Security to make it fair for those people who need these pensions the most to stay out of poverty.
Vic F.
Stop payments to dead people. That’s fraud and I agree with President Trump. Cut the waste, fraud, and abuse. That’s wasting our tax dollars.
Gregg Q.
Isn’t it also the law that any death reported to funeral homes or crematoriums must be reported to SSA for immediate cessation of payments?
Are there a lot of deceased people who bypass the funeral home?
For those who are not claimed by family and local government takes charge of the body, do they report the death to SSA?
Sandra B.
Can we be assured that OUR MONEY can’t be stolen by the unqualified in charge? Has my information been stolen as of yet? assurances needed