Trump claims 'shocking levels' of fraud in Social Security. Here's what we know.
President Donald Trump on Tuesday reiterated unsubstantiated claims of widespread fraud in the Social Security system.
Speaking before a joint session of Congress, Trump said there have been "shocking levels of incompetence and probable fraud" identified in the Social Security system, with "many" people likely too old to be alive receiving "a lot of money."
In the address, Trump said, "1.3 million people from ages 150 to 159 and over 130,000 people, according to the social security databases, are age over 160 years old,'' adding that one person was listed as being 360 years old.
But while the Social Security database does include active files for nearly 19 million people born before 1921, this does not imply widespread fraud, as previously reported by Paste BN.
Rather, the names are not marked as deceased because the SSA did not receive or record information about their death, primarily because they died before the use of electronic reporting, according to a 2023 audit. But the SSA assumes these people are deceased, and "almost none” received payments.
The SSA also has a safeguard that terminates benefits for people at the age of 115, according to its website.
Last month, Trump’s Social Security Acting Commissioner Lee Dudek said people in SSA records who do not have a death associated with their record “are not necessarily receiving benefits.”
A 2024 inspector general audit did find $71.8 billion in improper Social Security payments from 2015 to 2022, mostly from overpayments and some underpayments. These payments accounted for less than 1% of the $8.6 trillion in benefits paid over that period, as previously reported by Paste BN.
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This file has been updated to include new information.