The U.S. Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has put forward multiple efforts to modernize government systems and prevent fraud. The department recently completed a massive clean-up of Social Security Administration (SSA) records, marking over 12.3 million individuals previously listed as being 120 years old or older as deceased. This update is necessary to prevent fraudulent activities within the department.
After approximately 11 weeks, this cleanup was complete, and it focused on records that showed unexplainably high ages, where some individuals were listed as being as old as 169 years of age. Even though there is no one who is known to have lived that long, the outdated SSA records contain millions of anomalies. The DOGE made the initiative to rectify these inconsistencies which stem from decades of old data entry issues.
Age Brackets Marked as Deceased
According to data released by DOGE, the breakdown of records purged included:
- 3.3 million individuals aged 120–129
- 3.9 million aged 130–139
- 3.5 million aged 140–149
- 1.3 million aged 150–159
- Over 124,000 aged 160–169
Why the Cleanup Was Necessary
Even though the details of deceased or fictitiously aged citizens in the SSA database may seem like a harmless glitch, it may have serious consequences. There are many fraudsters who have taken advantage of deceased individuals Social Security numbers to commit identity theft. These inaccurate records could also potentially inflate government records.
Praise and Criticism
This specific clean-up had attracted both positive and negative responses. Tech entrepreneur Elon Musk lauded the effort on social media, calling it a “major reduction in fraud” and a demonstration of “common sense government action.” He emphasized the importance of clean, accurate data in the digital age, especially when managing public services like Social Security.
The New York Times noted that DOGE’s previously announced efficiency savings had inconsistencies, such as double-counting contract terminations and claiming out-of-date numbers as cost savings. Although there hasn’t been any direct opposition to the specific cleansing of SSA records, DOGE’s performance in general has drawn criticism.
The amount of money the unit claims to have saved the federal government is stated on a part of DOGE’s website. The websites savings sections states that the DOGE has saved the government a total of $175 billion—roughly $1,086 per taxpayer which has been through the termination of contracts, grants, and leases.
Underlying Issues: Obsolete Technology
Much of the blame for these issues falls on outdates technological systems that still occur in SSA operations. These systems can misregister details which may lead to outcomes such as individuals being over 150 years old. Without regular system upgrades, these errors persist indefinitely and introduces inefficiencies into core government functions.
Next Steps
Many DOGE officials state that this cleanup is just the beginning. Even though millions of records have been corrected, there are still many complex cases which require additional investigation. These cases will be handled with caution using data from multiple federal agencies.
The SSA has also emphasized that it will be investing into modernizing the IT infrastructure, to prevent any similar issues from occurring in the future. The agency also plans to integrate more AI-based tools to ensure that there will be cross-agency verification of Social Security data.
Conclusion
Removing over 12 million outdated records from the SSA database has showed that federal government has taken a decisive step towards restoring the accuracy of one of the most important systems. Even though the clean-up won’t rectify all the underlying issues, it marks an important step toward transparency, fraud prevention and technological advancement within the federal government.
By removing outdated records from the SSA database, the federal government has taken a significant step toward restoring accuracy and integrity to one of its most critical systems.