If you thought government bureaucracy couldn’t get any more bloated or absurd, think again. The Social Security Administration, under new scrutiny from the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has just cleaned up one of the most egregious data scandals in federal history — a purge of 12.3 million individuals listed as 120 years old or older on its rolls.
Yes, you read that right. According to DOGE’s latest report, millions of impossibly ancient individuals were still actively recorded in the Social Security system. Some of them were receiving benefits. Most were simply being carried like ghosts through the data pipeline, possibly masking fraud or perpetuating statistical distortions that inflated government spending for years.
For the past two weeks, @SocialSecurity has begun a major cleanup of their records. Approximately 3.2 million numberholders, all listed age 120+, have now been marked as deceased. More work still to be done. pic.twitter.com/nmAggTdLON
— Department of Government Efficiency (@DOGE) March 18, 2025
The cleanup effort, launched by DOGE in March, was long overdue. Initial updates showed 3.2 million of these centenarian-plus anomalies being marked as deceased. Then, a jaw-dropping 11 million were added to the death count in the April 24 update. Now, with the most recent tally, 12.3 million have finally been removed.
DOGE officials cautioned that some “complex cases” remain — such as individuals with two or more different birth dates on file — and these will be dealt with in a follow-up effort. But the scale of the purge already raises chilling questions about how such a systemic failure went uncorrected for so long.
The presence of 120-year-old ghost entries might be laughable if the implications weren’t so serious. These inaccuracies open doors to fraudulent payouts, inflated budget forecasts, and even improper use of social security numbers for benefits or voting registrations. With aging voter rolls and non-citizen ID issues already a flashpoint in the national conversation, this revelation couldn’t have come at a more pivotal time.
For the past 7 weeks, @SocialSecurity has been executing a major cleanup of their records. Approximately 11 million numberholders, all listed age 120+, have now been marked deceased. Another ~1.4 million to go with expected completion in 2 weeks. https://t.co/wtfYvYNg4u pic.twitter.com/LBWRge9pzu
— Department of Government Efficiency (@DOGE) April 24, 2025
And the timing is especially suspect, considering the parallel disclosure from DOGE’s own Elon Musk, who claimed 2.1 million non-citizens received social security numbers in 2024 alone. According to Valor Equity CEO Anthony Gracias, this astonishing number stems from policies under the prior administration that allowed migrants to register for social security after entering the country.
Here’s the kicker: DOGE reports that these efforts have already yielded $170 billion in savings across the federal system. That’s billion with a B. All because someone finally had the courage to ask why so many people supposedly outlived the oldest human on record by a decade — and then some.
After 11 weeks, @SocialSecurity has finished this major cleanup initiative: ~12.3M individuals aged 120+ have now been marked as deceased.
Some complex cases remain, such as individuals with 2+ different birth dates on file. These will be investigated in a follow-up effort. https://t.co/u942yTxlsG pic.twitter.com/DaXyqx5e4k
— Department of Government Efficiency (@DOGE) May 23, 2025
And yet, this revelation begs a sobering question: How many billions more have been lost over decades due to bureaucratic neglect, political cover-ups, and a lack of basic verification?
