In recent days, misleading information about Social Security and Medicare has taken center stage.
This all started when Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, made a post on X (formerly Twitter), where he claimed that millions of deceased people were listed as “alive” in the Social Security database.
He even shared a spreadsheet with age brackets that suggested there were more people in the database than the entire U.S. population, including about 16 million people over the age of 110. Musk suggested that this was a sign of rampant fraud in the Social Security system.
His post went viral, fueling a frenzy on social media about possible fraud in the Social Security system, even including the baseless claim that immigrants living in the U.S. illegally are receiving benefits.
The hype reached new heights when Howard Lutnick, the new Secretary of Commerce, appeared on Fox News, saying, “Think about it. We have almost $4 trillion of entitlements, and no one’s ever looked at it before.
You know Social Security is wrong. You know Medicaid and Medicare are wrong. So, he is going to cut a trillion dollars.”
Let’s move away from the realm of social media rumors and take a closer look at the real facts regarding Social Security.
The Oversight of Social Security
The Social Security system is not run by a single individual but by a board of trustees. These trustees include the Secretaries of Treasury, Health and Human Services, and Labor, along with a presidentially-appointed administrator.
This setup ensures that Social Security is subject to oversight by multiple government entities.
Under President Trump, these trustees remained in control of Social Security for the duration of his first term, and both Social Security and Medicare underwent yearly audits. These audits lead to detailed reports, some of which span hundreds of pages.
For instance, the most recent report, a comprehensive 277-page document, shows that Social Security paid out $1.4 trillion in benefits to 67 million people.
Of these, around 53 million were retired workers, while the rest were survivors or disabled workers. This is far from the claim that 16 million people over the age of 110 are receiving benefits.
Facts Over Myths: Social Security in the U.S.
In reality, there were nearly 60 million Americans aged 65 and older last year, and less than 90% of them were receiving Social Security benefits.
The data from 2020, which was also overseen by Trump’s appointees, shows that the number of beneficiaries had actually decreased, likely due to the impact of COVID-19 on seniors.
Additionally, the cost of administering Social Security is remarkably low. In 2022, the system’s administrative cost was only $7.2 billion, which is just 0.05% of the total benefits paid. This is only a slight increase from $6.4 billion in the last year of the Trump administration.
If Musk’s goal is to save money in the Social Security system, cuts to benefits for current recipients would be necessary.
However, such cuts would be politically unfeasible and would harm millions of Americans. It’s unlikely that any administration would reduce the benefits to 63 million current beneficiaries.
The Root Cause of Confusion
It appears that much of the confusion surrounding Social Security is due to technical issues, including outdated COBOL programming in which the Social Security system was originally written.
COBOL, an old programming language, has been obsolete since the mid-1990s, yet it still runs much of the Social Security database. These technical issues might explain some of the strange data in Musk’s claims.
While this is a valid concern, it is important to note that the outdated IT infrastructure is just one small piece of a much larger problem.
If Musk and his team focused their efforts on fixing the system’s IT problems, it would be a much more meaningful contribution than spreading misinformation on social media.
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The Real Problem: Social Security’s Future
The real challenge facing Social Security is its sustainability. When Social Security was established in 1935, life expectancy in the U.S. was just 62 years.
Back then, it was expected that most people would not live long enough to benefit from the system. However, as life expectancy steadily increased, more and more people began receiving Social Security payments.
Today, life expectancy is just under 80 years, which means most beneficiaries receive payments for 15 years or more.
At the same time, the U.S. birth rate has significantly declined, leading to fewer workers paying into the system. In 1950, there were about seven workers for every retiree.
Today, that ratio is down to about three, and it is expected to fall to just two by the mid-2030s. This poses a serious burden on future generations, making the current system unsustainable.
Conclusion: A Call for Modernization
Instead of focusing on baseless claims about fraud, Musk could use his resources and intellect to tackle the real problems facing Social Security.
This includes finding ways to modernize the system’s outdated IT infrastructure and addressing the long-term funding issues.
If more attention were given to these critical areas, the country could make meaningful progress toward ensuring Social Security’s future stability.
Disclaimer- Our team has thoroughly fact-checked this article to ensure its accuracy and maintain its credibility. We are committed to providing honest and reliable content for our readers.
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