During an interview on Tuesday night with Fox News host Sean Hannity, former President Donald Trump reassured Americans that their Social Security benefits would remain intact, despite concerns about potential cuts following revelations of widespread fraud within the Social Security Administration (SSA).
Trump’s Promise to Protect Social Security
Trump, who was joined by Elon Musk during the interview, emphasized that those eligible for retirement, disability, and survivor benefits would continue to receive their monthly payments. He made it clear that no cuts would be made to these programs, insisting that the only exceptions would be related to fraud.
“Social Security won’t be touched, other than if there’s fraud or something,” Trump explained. He further assured viewers that Medicare and Medicaid would also be unaffected by any changes.
Fraud and the SSA Database Issues
While Trump emphasized the protection of benefits, he did express concern about fraud within the system, particularly regarding inflated numbers in the SSA database. In the interview, he referenced figures brought to light by his close associate, Elon Musk, who had reviewed the SSA’s records. According to Musk, the system contained millions of entries for individuals purported to be U.S. citizens, many of whom were listed as being over 100 years old.
Musk jokingly suggested that there must be “vampires” collecting Social Security checks, referring to these long-dead individuals still appearing in the system. While the mere presence of these names in the database does not necessarily mean that fraudulent payments were made, it highlights a serious issue within the federal government’s oversight of the system.
Social Security Fraud Concerns and Actual Losses
Although Trump and Musk pointed to potential fraud, experts caution that the level of fraud being discussed may be exaggerated. An audit of the SSA in November 2021 revealed that the agency had mistakenly paid $298 million to 24,000 deceased individuals. However, most of these errors were attributed to technical glitches or policy oversights, rather than deliberate fraud.
Other audits over the past few years have shown that while millions of dollars in payments to deceased individuals have occurred, the total losses amount to less than one percent of the SSA’s overall benefit payouts. This suggests that while fraud is a real issue, the figures being discussed might not fully reflect the scale of the problem.
Moving Forward with Social Security Reform
Despite the concerns over fraud and database errors, Trump’s promise to strengthen Social Security stands. His administration’s stance is that while fraud will be addressed, legitimate beneficiaries will not be impacted. The focus will remain on addressing the vulnerabilities within the system while ensuring that those who need Social Security the most will continue to receive their benefits without interference.
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