Elon Musk has said that Social Security benefits could increase as the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) continues its investigations into the Social Security Administration (SSA). Social Security benefits are paid monthly,
Ronald Gunia, a retired longtime director in the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General who worked on the 2015 and 2023 reports, said that incomplete data can increase chances for fraud, and that Musk was correct to highlight data problems that remain unresolved despite years of audits.
It is true that improper payments have been made—including some to dead people—but the claims thrown out by Elon Musk and Donald Trump are overstated.
In a post on X, Musk shared a screenshot of a data sheet showing people from age 0 to 369 years old collecting Social Security benefits.