In its press statement, the SSA says, “Of the millions of death reports we get every year, less than one-third of one percent are wrongly reported deaths that need to be fixed.”
By being open, the SSA hopes to stop fake stories from spreading on social media and lessen the “devastating” effects of someone being mistakenly reported dead.
Getting rid of false information
There was a lot of confusion about the SSA’s death records after Elon Musk, the billionaire who runs President Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), wrote on X in February.
Musk wrote in his post, “Having tens of millions of people marked in Social Security as ‘ALIVE’ when they are definitely dead is a HUGE problem.”
In reaction, the SSA showed proof that many of the mistakes the agency needs to fix are not for dead people who were marked as alive but for living beneficiaries who were marked as dead.
According to The Seattle Times, 82-year-old Ned Johnson lost his benefits and had $5,201 taken out of his bank account after the agency thought he was dead when he wasn’t.
The SSA says that when someone is wrongly reported as deceased to Social Security, it can be very bad for the person, their spouse, and any children who rely on them. “In the short term, benefits are cut off, which can make things hard financially until the problem is fixed and benefits are reinstated. Also, the process to prove a wrong death will always seem too long and difficult.”
Stats from the SSA show that of the 67 million Americans who get SSA payments, only 0.1% are over 100 years old. Also, since 2015, the agency has used an automated method to stop giving benefits to people over the age of 115.
In the midst of all the misunderstanding and false information, here’s what you can do if you’re worried about missing or being late on your Social Security payments.
Look over your records
These days, the SSA has made a lot of changes, so it makes sense to check your records on their website. Sign in to your mySocialSecurity account and make sure that all of your information is right and up to date.
You can also call the agency’s national 1-800 number to get more information about any changes that might be made to your account. Just remember to be careful when talking to the SSA—in March, the agency warned people that scammers were trying to steal benefits and/or personal information by pretending to be SSA employees.
The agency says that you or a loved one should contact your local Social Security office if you think that you have been wrongly reported as dead.
Talking to a financial expert about the latest changes to Social Security and what might happen next might also be a good idea. A professional who knows how the system works can help you figure out all the changes that the current government is making quickly.
