The Department of Government Efficiency has turned its attention to the Social Security Administration database after Elon Musk claimed that tens of millions of dead people are still collecting benefits.

DOGE responded on Monday, saying it was "looking into this," in reply to a Musk post on X Sunday that stated:

"According to the Social Security database, these are the numbers of people in each age bucket with the death field set to FALSE!" Musk's post read with a screenshot of a spreadsheet. "Maybe Twilight is real and there are a lot of vampires collecting Social Security."

Musk's and DOGE's efforts at the SSA come as they face pushback over concerns about their access to sensitive data at the SSA and other agencies, like the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Education.

The issue of Social Security numbers belonging to people too old to be alive is not new and does not imply widespread fraud. A 2023 audit by the SSA Office of the Inspector General found that 18.9 million Social Security number holders born in 1920 or earlier were not marked as deceased, due to technological changes. However, most of these individuals were not receiving benefits.

More:Social Security's top official resigns after clash with Elon Musk's DOGE

Are there millions in the Social Security database aged 100-159?

Yes, but the SSA knows many are presumed dead, and close to none of them receive payments.

The SSA uses death reports from a number of sources to denote when a person with a Social Security number has died and adds the information to a "death master file," according to the 2023 report. Versions of the death master file are also given to federal benefits agencies and financial institutions to prevent and spot fraud.

The 2023 review found that 18.9 million people born in 1920 or earlier had not been reported dead nor kicked over to the death master file. That accounted for about 3.6% of all the unique Social Security numbers ever made.

"We believe it likely SSA did not receive or record most of the 18.9 million individuals’ death information primarily because the individuals died decades ago − before the use of electronic death reporting," the report stated.

However, "almost none" of the 18.9 million Social Security number holders born in 1920 or earlier were receiving SSA payments, the 2023 report said, noting there were about 44,000 who were still receiving payments at the time of the audit.

Social Security protocol halts payment at age 115

The agency's lack of an automatic process to add people's information to the death master file once they surpass a reasonable life expectancy age was also flagged in an inspector general report in 2015.

As of September 2015, the SSA began to automate terminating benefits once people reached age 115, according to the website.

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Elon Musk, DOGE and Social Security: What to know

Musk's DOGE has attempted to access sensitive information at several federal agencies. The acting commissioner of the SSA left over the weekend after DOGE attempted to access private information, USA TODAY reported.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said President Donald Trump directed Musk and DOGE to identify fraud in the SSA in a Monday appearance on Fox News.

"They suspect that there are tens of millions of deceased people receiving fraudulent Social Security payments," she said. "Rest assured to all the people ... if you paid into the system honestly you will continue to receive your Social Security checks."

She accused the media of "fearmongering" and was adamant Musk's reviews would not disrupt payments.

Contributing: Joey Garrison

Kinsey Crowley is a trending news reporter at USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected], and follow her on X and TikTok @kinseycrowley.