Elon Musk Investigates Social Security Administration, Discovers a 369-Year-Old ‘Alive’ and Millions of Deceased Still Receiving Benefits from $1.6 Trillion Fund

Elon Musk thanh tra Cục An sinh xã hội, phát hiện có người 369 tuổi vẫn ‘còn sống’, hàng triệu người đã chết vẫn nhận tiền từ khoản trợ cấp 1,6 nghìn tỷ USD- Ảnh 1.

Every year, the Social Security Administration (SSA) disburses $1.6 trillion to Americans, including retirement benefits, disability assistance, and survivor benefits for deceased individuals’ families.

Recently, Elon Musk conducted an investigation into the SSA and discovered that 20 million individuals over the age of 100 were still listed as beneficiaries, raising concerns that tens of millions of deceased individuals were fraudulently receiving government benefits.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are only about 85,000 Americans over the age of 100.

However, the SSA stated that Musk used outdated system data, while official SSA reports publicly list a maximum of 90,000 beneficiaries over 100 years old.

Despite this, the SSA’s Office of the Inspector General’s July 2024 report revealed that from 2015 to 2022, the agency issued $71.8 billion in improper payments, including overpayments to living beneficiaries.

For 2025, SSA plans to distribute $1.6 trillion in benefits to 69 million Americans, covering retirement, disability, and survivor benefits.

Scandal or Misunderstanding?

Elon Musk thanh tra Cục An sinh xã hội, phát hiện có người 369 tuổi vẫn ‘còn sống’, hàng triệu người đã chết vẫn nhận tiền từ khoản trợ cấp 1,6 nghìn tỷ USD- Ảnh 2.

According to Musk, out of 20 million Americans aged 100+, there were 3.9 million aged 130-139, over 3.5 million aged 140-149, and more than 1.3 million aged 150-159.

A particularly striking case revealed a ‘living’ citizen aged 360-369.

“Maybe the world of vampires is real, and they’re collecting Social Security benefits,” Musk humorously posted on Twitter-X.

The issue lies in millions of SSA records not being updated with death reports, fueling suspicions of misconduct.

However, SSA officials argued that Musk relied on outdated Numident system data instead of SSA-provided figures.

The main reason SSA has not updated Numident is due to excessive costs, while the agency can still track beneficiaries through electronic records.

According to SSA, as of December 2024, only 52 million Americans were receiving retirement benefits—individuals who paid into the system throughout their working lives. SSA also provides funds to dependents and widows of retirees, bringing the total number of recipients in 2024 to 68 million.

Musk’s revelations were not entirely new. SSA’s July 2023 audit report indicated that 18.9 million people were listed as 100+ years old but had no recorded death in the system.

U.S. Census data at the time showed only 86,000 living Americans over 100.

SSA records confirmed that only about 44,000 centenarians were actively receiving benefits, asserting that “virtually no” improper payments were made to deceased individuals.

“Elon Musk did not discover this within Numident,” said former SSA advisor Kathleen Romig.

Audit Concerns and Fraud Suspicion

Elon Musk thanh tra Cục An sinh xã hội, phát hiện có người 369 tuổi vẫn ‘còn sống’, hàng triệu người đã chết vẫn nhận tiền từ khoản trợ cấp 1,6 nghìn tỷ USD- Ảnh 3.

Romig suggested that Musk and his DOGE team were simply searching for anomalies within SSA.

Nevertheless, SSA’s $1.2 trillion payment system has drawn media scrutiny for transparency issues that have persisted for years.

In January 2025, the U.S. Treasury Department reclaimed over $31 million from various accounts, including Social Security payments sent to deceased individuals.

According to former Treasury official David Lebryk, this is just the “tip of the iceberg” within SSA.

A 2023 audit revealed approximately 531 million Social Security numbers in circulation in the U.S., despite the country having only 341 million people, suggesting millions of Social Security numbers are being used for identity fraud.

This type of fraud isn’t new. The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation previously overpaid $127 million to 3,500 deceased individuals, later negotiating repayment with the Department of Justice.

Returning to the Treasury Department’s recovery of $31 million, the issue was only identified when Congress granted access to SSA records, leading to a five-month pilot investigation.

SSA has records dating back to 1899, making document classification and digital integration excessively time-consuming and costly, creating vulnerabilities for fraudulent claims.

The Treasury Department estimates it could recover an additional $215 million in improperly distributed Social Security funds since December 2023.

“Elon Musk should be applauded if he can identify and stop improper payments,” said senior strategist Chuck Blahous at George Mason University’s Mercatus Center.

Blahous also noted that improper payment rates for programs like Medicaid have surged in recent years, significantly contributing to budget deficits.

Systemic Risks and Future Challenges

Worse yet, stolen Social Security numbers can be exploited for various criminal activities, leading to erroneous payments in other federal welfare programs or being used for fraud schemes.

Despite these issues, SSA acknowledged that overpayments largely stem from beneficiaries failing to accurately report income or employment status—for example, working while receiving unemployment benefits.

SSA maintains that while improper payments amount to billions annually, they represent less than 1% of its total benefit disbursements each year.