In early 2025, Elon Musk, serving as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), claimed that millions of Americans aged 150 and older were receiving Social Security benefits, suggesting widespread fraud within the Social Security Administration (SSA). These assertions, made during a White House briefing and amplified through social media, were quickly scrutinized and debunked by experts and officials.(The Washington Post)

The Origins of the Claim

Musk’s allegations stemmed from his team’s analysis of SSA databases, which reportedly showed entries for individuals with ages exceeding 150 years. He interpreted this as evidence of fraudulent benefit payments to deceased individuals. However, experts clarified that these anomalous age entries were due to outdated technology and data entry practices. Specifically, the SSA’s legacy systems, built using the COBOL programming language, default to placeholder dates when birth information is missing or incomplete, resulting in implausible ages in the records .(Wikipedia, CBS News, WIRED)

Expert Rebuttals

Lee Dudek, the acting commissioner of the SSA, refuted Musk’s claims, stating that the presence of such entries does not indicate active benefit payments. He emphasized that the SSA has protocols to halt payments to individuals presumed deceased and that the vast majority of these anomalous records do not correspond to ongoing disbursements .(AP News)

Further analysis revealed that while the SSA’s database contained approximately 18.9 million records of individuals born before 1920 without confirmed death dates, these entries are not indicative of fraudulent activity. The SSA’s Inspector General reported that almost none of these individuals were receiving benefits, and the anomalies were attributed to data management issues rather than intentional fraud .(CBS News, AP News)

Political Context and Motivations

Critics argue that Musk’s assertions were politically motivated, aiming to justify cuts to Social Security under the guise of combating fraud. The DOGE initiative, under Musk’s leadership, proposed significant reductions in SSA services, including the elimination of phone support for claimants—a move that faced substantial backlash and was ultimately reversed .(The Washington Post)

Tiffany Flick, a former SSA chief of staff, criticized DOGE’s actions as based on misunderstandings and a disregard for data confidentiality. She highlighted the risks posed by unvetted individuals accessing sensitive information and called for legal intervention to protect the privacy of millions of Americans .(The Guardian)

Conclusion

Elon Musk’s claims regarding 150-year-olds receiving Social Security benefits were thoroughly debunked by experts and officials. The anomalies in SSA records were attributed to outdated systems and data entry practices, not fraudulent activity. These assertions appear to have been part of a broader political agenda to reduce Social Security expenditures, rather than evidence-based critiques of the system.(CBS News, AP News)

References

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