· Speech
Musk says Social Security records include people '150 years old'; SSA and fact-checkers say few are paid
…people in there that are 150 years old
What he said or did
In the Oval Office on 11 February Musk said DOGE had found people in there that are 150 years old
in Social Security data; on 16 February he posted a table of people in each age bracket with the death field set to false, and the next day posted Maybe Twilight is real and there are a lot of vampires collecting Social Security.
Background
The figures come from the Numident database of everyone ever issued a Social Security number, which is separate from the payment system (ABC News).
Official response
Acting SSA Commissioner Lee Dudek said These individuals are not necessarily receiving benefits
(FactCheck.org; CBS News).
Fact-checks and findings
FactCheck.org found Trump and Musk exaggerated the scale: about 89,000 people aged 99 or older received benefits in December 2024, and a 2023 audit found 0.2% of 18.9 million such records were receiving payments.
Sources
- FactCheck.org21 Feb 2025
- CBS News19 Feb 2025
- ABC News (ABC7)20 Feb 2025
This entry records what was publicly said or done, as reported by the sources above. Quotes are attributed to the person who made them.
