The Social Security Administration has corrected nearly 60 million records in its database, updating information on citizenship status and adding dates of death as the agency works to improve the accuracy of records used to administer federal benefits.
The agency has corrected nearly 15% of active Social Security numbers across a database containing nearly 390 million total records, according to the SSA. The United States has approximately 330 million citizens.
“The Social Security Number database is our country’s books and records. The database’s accuracy is essential to maintaining integrity of government services for citizens,” SSA Commissioner Frank Bisignano said in a statement.
“Accurate SSN records prevent fraud across federal programs and support the proper administration of benefits,” he added. “This is the first time SSA has undertaken an effort of this scale, and I am proud of the work we have done to strengthen the foundation of identity data relied upon throughout government and the economy.”
As part of the effort, the SSA added 17 million dates of death to records that previously lacked the information. The agency used a combination of its internal systems and data from the State Department to make the updates.
The SSA also updated approximately 25 million records that lacked citizenship information, using data from the Department of Homeland Security’s Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements service. The agency is working to correct an additional 8.5 million records with inaccurate citizenship status.
The administration has also introduced stronger internal controls to prevent future inaccuracies from manual data entry.
The overhaul comes as the agency faces broader questions about the long-term sustainability of Social Security, the federal program that has provided retirement benefits since 1935. The program also provides benefits to eligible people with disabilities and survivors of deceased workers.
Social Security is funded primarily through payroll taxes paid by workers and employers. As the U.S. population ages, the number of beneficiaries is growing relative to the number of workers paying into the system, putting pressure on the program’s finances.
The most recent Social Security trustees’ report projected that the program’s retirement and survivor benefits trust fund would be depleted in 2032. If the program becomes solvent, it would still collect payroll taxes and other revenue, but those incoming funds would be insufficient to cover all scheduled benefits.
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The trustees estimated that, upon depletion, the program would have sufficient ongoing revenue to cover approximately 78% of scheduled benefits, resulting in an effective 22% reduction unless lawmakers intervene.
The database corrections do not resolve those long-term funding challenges, but they address a separate issue facing the agency: ensuring that the records used to determine eligibility and administer benefits are accurate.
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[ H/T Washington Examiner ]
