Elon Musk has ignited controversy with a bold assertion that “millions of vampires” are collecting Social Security benefits. In a recent X post, Musk claimed the U.S. Social Security database lists millions of individuals over 100 years old—some allegedly as old as 300—still fraudulently receiving payments. “According to the Social Security database, these are the numbers of people in each age bucket with the death field set to FALSE! Maybe Twilight is real and there are a lot of vampires collecting Social Security,” he wrote.
According to the Social Security database, these are the numbers of people in each age bucket with the death field set to FALSE!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 17, 2025
Maybe Twilight is real and there are a lot of vampires collecting Social Security 🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/ltb06VX98Z
Musk’s statement echoes remarks from President Donald Trump, who, during a recent Florida press briefing, claimed “millions and millions” of centenarians continue to draw Social Security benefits, labeling it a sign of government inefficiency, according to the Associated Press.
However, both assertions have been thoroughly debunked.
Fact-Checking the Claims
A 2024 Social Security Administration (SSA) Inspector General report acknowledged that some payments were erroneously sent to deceased individuals, but these errors represented less than 1% of the $8.6 trillion in benefits distributed from 2015 to 2022. A key culprit? The SSA’s antiquated COBOL-based system, which struggles with date management. Incomplete or missing birthdates are assigned a default starting point, sometimes dating back over 150 years. A 2023 SSA report clarified that “almost none” of these erroneously listed individuals were actually receiving funds.
Since September 2015, the SSA has enforced strict safeguards, automatically halting payments to anyone recorded as 115 or older.
The Real Data
The SSA maintains records of 18.9 million Social Security numbers tied to individuals born in 1920 or earlier, not marked as deceased. However, this does not mean these individuals are alive or collecting benefits. In 2024, the U.S. Treasury reclaimed $31 million in erroneous payments to deceased recipients—a minuscule portion of the $8.6 trillion disbursed over the past decade. The SSA projects recovering $215 million over the next three years through enhanced fraud prevention measures.
Experts caution that exaggerated claims about “millions” of centenarians on Social Security could muddy the waters around the program’s genuine fiscal challenges.
Social Security Leadership Shake-Up
Amid these debates, Acting SSA Commissioner Michelle King has resigned. President Trump has tapped Leland Dudek to serve as interim leader while his nominee, Frank Bisignano, awaits Senate confirmation.
The White House offered no official explanation for King’s exit, but sources suggest friction over access to sensitive SSA data played a role. Nancy Altman, president of Social Security Works, told CBS News that King had resisted efforts by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to tap into the SSA’s Enterprise Data Warehouse, which houses personal and financial details of millions of Americans. “She was standing in the way, and they moved her out of the way,” Altman said. “They put someone in who presumably they thought would cooperate and give them the keys to all our personal data.”
Broader Privacy Concerns
DOGE’s ambitions extend beyond Social Security. Reports indicate the department has already accessed Treasury payment systems and is now eyeing IRS databases. If DOGE gains unrestricted access to SSA records, analysts warn it could pose a significant privacy threat to millions of Americans.