An official stated on Wednesday that the recovery of more than $31 million in Social Security payments that were erroneously distributed to deceased individuals was “just the tip of the iceberg.” The United States government was successful in recouping these payments.
In 2021, Congress granted the Department of Treasury temporary access to the Social Security Administration’s “Full Death Master File” for three years as part of the omnibus budget bill. The money was returned as part of a five-month trial program.
Social Security Administration’s Death Master File Helps Detect Fraud
According to the Treasury, the Social Security Administration (SSA) maintains the most comprehensive federal database of deceased individuals. The database has more than 142 million records, some of which date back to 1899.
During its three-year access period, starting in December 2023 and lasting through 2026, the Treasury Administration expects to collect over $215 million.
Fiscal Assistant Secretary David Lebryk of the Treasury Department said, “These results are merely the tip of the iceberg.”
He urged Congress to provide the Treasury full access to the master file, asserting that this would “greatly diminish fraud, enhance program integrity, and better protect taxpayer funds.”
It has been demonstrated through this endeavour that the government is trying to prevent fraud, waste, and abuse, which is also one of the pledges that Donald Trump made throughout his campaign.
The incoming president has appointed two business titans, Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, to lead the Department of Government Efficiency, also known as DOGE.
DOGE is a new nongovernmental task force tasked with finding ways to fire federal workers, cut programs, and reduce federal regulations. This is all a part of what Trump refers to as his “Save America” agenda for his second term in the White House.
A spokesperson from the Trump transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding whether the next administration will continue the attempts or seek to make the Treasury’s temporary access to the file permanent. The request said that the representative would not comment on the matter.
