By Fatima Hussein, Associated Press
Washington (AP) – The Trump administration wrongly claims that tens of millions of deaths over 100 years old receive social security payments.
In the past few days, President Donald Trump and billionaire councilor Elon Musk have declared on social networks and in press references that people who have 100, 200 and even 300 years old have gone bad advantages – a “problem Huge, ”wrote Musk, as his department of government efficiency seeks in federal agencies to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse.
It is true that inappropriate payments have been made, including some to the dead. But the figures thrown by Musk and the White House are overestimated and distort social security data.
Here are the facts:
What does the Trump administration say on centenarian payments?
Trump on Tuesday said at a press briefing in Florida that “we have millions and millions of people over 100” receiving social security benefits. “They are obviously fraudulent or incompetent,” said Trump.
“If you withdraw all these millions of people from Social Security, all of a sudden, we have very powerful social security with people aged 80 and 70, but not 200 years,” he said . He also said that there was a person in the system listed as 360 years.
Late Monday, Musk published a multitude of messages on its X social media platform, in particular: “Maybe Twilight is real and there are many vampires that collect Social Security” and “having tens of millions People marked in Social Security as “living” when they are definitely dead, this is a huge problem. Obviously. Some of these people were alive before America exists as a country. Think about it for a second… “
What is the size of a problem with social security fraud?
A July 2024 report by the Inspector General of Social Security declares that 2015 to 2022 exercises, the agency paid nearly $ 8.6 billions of services, including $ 71.8 billion – or less than 1 % – in inappropriate payments. Most erroneous payments were overpayed for living people.
In addition, in early January, the US Treasury recovered more than $ 31 million in a variety of federal payments – not just social security payments – which have gone wrong, a recovery that the former treasury official, David Lebryk was “just the tip of the iceberg.
The money was recovered within the framework of a five -month pilot program after the congress gave the Ministry of the Treasury the temporary access to the “Masters file at the death of the Social Security Administration for three years within the framework of the Omnibus credits bill in 2021. The most complete federal database of the deceased and the file contains more than 142 million files, which date back to 1899, according to the Treasure.
The Treasury estimated in January that it would recover more than $ 215 million during its period of access to three years, which takes place from December 2023 to 2026.
So, tens of millions of people over 100 receive services?
No.
Part of the confusion comes from the Social Security software system based on the Cobol programming language, which has a lack of date. This means that certain entries with missing or incomplete birth dates will be definitively at a point of reference over 150 years ago. The press organization was wired for the first time on the use of the Cobol programming language at the Social Security Administration.
In addition, a series of reports from the Inspector General of Social Security Administration in March 2023 and July 2024 indicates that the agency did not establish again system to properly annotate death in its database, which included around 18.9 million social security numbers from people born in 1920 or earlier but were not marked as deceased. However, this does not mean that these people received services.
The agency has decided not to update the database due to the cost of doing so, which would increase more than $ 9 million.
A report on Social Security in July 2023 stipulates that “almost none of the numbers discussed in the report currently receives payments in SSA”. And, in September 2015, the agency automatically stopped payments for people over 1155.
What are the concerns about disinformation on social security payments?
Chuck Blahous, a main research strategist at the George Mason University Mercatus Center, said: “Two applause for Elon Musk if he can uproot and put an end to inappropriate payments.”
But to choose the places of the federal government where the error rates are high, “social security would be near the list, not close to the summit,” said Blahous. “The inappropriate payment rates of Medicaid are quite substantial and have skyrocketed after the expansion of Medicaid of the ACA.”
“By all means-continue all the inappropriate payments that are found, but do not like it that this is where the greatest financial problems in the system,” he said.
Sita Nataraj Slavov, professor of public policy at the Schar School of Policy and Government of George Mason, said that Musk and Trump’s statements will make people believe that solutions to government financial problems are simpler than they do not appear.
“The real concern is that this assertion can induce people to induce people by thinking that there is an easy solution to the financial problems of Social Security – that we can somehow restore solvency without making sacrifices thanks to higher taxes or lower advantages, “said Slavov. “It’s just not true.”
What does the White House say on criticism?
Karoline Leavitt, spokesperson for the White House, referred to the report of the Inspector General of Social Security.
“A previous survey revealed that the SSA paid at least $ 71.8 billion in inappropriate payments,” she said. “Social Security Administration now strives to find even more waste, fraud and mistreatment in the total administration effort to protect American taxpayers.”
Originally published:
California Daily Newspapers
