Our forthcoming book is The Comeback: The 2024 Elections and American Politics. The second Trump administration is off to an ominous start.
Last night, Trump gave the longest-ever presidential speech to Congress. It was full of lies. Adam Edelman and Jane C. Timm at NBC:
Trump said: “We’re also identifying shocking levels of incompetence and probable fraud in the Social Security program for our seniors.”
This is false.
Trump alleged in his speech that millions of senior citizens over age 100 — including some he maintained were older than 160 — were collecting Social Security checks, according to Social Security Administration data.
Trump specifically said that SSA records indicated that 4.7 million people 100 to 109 were getting checks, that 3.6 million 110 to 119 were, that 3.47 million 120 to 129 were, that 3.9 million 130 to 139 were, that 3.5 million 140 to 149 were, that 1.3 million 150 to 159 were — and that even 130,000 people older than 160 years old were still getting checks.
He also alleged that several hundred people older than 220 were still getting checks, according to SSA data — and that “one person is listed at 360 of age.”
The alleged fraud that Trump — and DOGE chief Elon Musk — have pointed to doesn’t exist. Rather, the numbers they refer to are products of a known problem with the government’s data.
There are millions of people over age 100 in the Social Security Administration’s database, but the vast majority aren’t receiving benefits.
Inspectors general at the agency have repeatedly identified the issue, but the Social Security Administration has argued that updating old records is costly and unnecessary.
An SSA IG report from 2023 showed 18.9 million people listed as 100 years or older — but not dead — were in the database. But “almost none” currently receive SSA payments.
The SSA’s inspector general also found in a report released in July that from 2015 to 2022, only 0.84% of benefits payments were improper. That 0.84% of improper benefits payments totaled $71.8 billion over eight years. The report also says most of the improper payments were overpayments — not payments to dead people or people who didn’t qualify.
In addition, according to the agency’s online records , just 89,106 people — not tens of millions — over age 99 received retirement benefits in December, out of the more than 70 million people who receive benefits every year.
