DOGE to mark millions as ‘deceased’ in Social Security records

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has continued to dig dead people out of Social Security’s database.

On Monday, DOGE identified over seven million individuals in its Social Security records as deceased, according to a post from the temporary federal organization on X. The social media post stated that the individuals removed were all listed as 120 years old or older — the agency plans to designate an additional 5 million people in the Social Security database as deceased.

President Donald Trump and DOGE leader Elon Musk have repeatedly falsely claimed in the past that millions of dead people are receiving social media benefits.

Most recently during President Trump’s speech to Congress on March 3 he reaffirmed the claim.

“One person is listed at 360 years of age. More than 100 years. More than 100 years older than our country,” Trump said to Congress. “But we’re going to find out where that money is going, and it’s not going to be pretty.”

While there are millions of dead people inside the Social Security database most of them are not receiving Social Security benefits, according to a 2023 report from the Office of the Inspector General.

The inspector general report states it’ll be costly to remove the individuals from the database. According to Social Security records, 89,106 people over the age of 99 received Social Security benefits in December 2024.

DOGE’s crusade to designate individuals as deceased is part of the temporary federal organization’s crusade to cut $1 trillion from federal spending by September 2025.

President Trump previously said one of his goals for the agency is to send 20% of the money saved by DOGE back to taxpayers in the form of a potential stimulus check.