[darbymcgill]

Agency officials noted that, as of March 2023, SSA had issued approximately 531 million unique SSNs, and the 18.9 million records represent approximately 3.6 percent of all Numident records. Officials also noted that almost none of the 18.9 million numberholders currently receive SSA payments," the report stated. "At the time of our review, approximately 44,000 of the 18.9 million numberholders were receiving SSA payments," a footnote added.

Found this on Foxnews

Not as bad as we thought...

[outinyellowdogcountry]

There are big problems with this huge number of “extra” SSA numbers. Aside from asking exactly how do they know how many are receiving SSA payments when their record keeping is so bad. I am not comforted. Consider reports of US Treasury paying out money to every request, ignoring the Do Not Pay registry, how do we know? “. “The active SSNs, appearing valid in the system, enable fraudsters to apply for and receive a panoply federal, state, and local benefits, like PPP loans.” I would add illegal voting could really benefit from all these extra SS cards. CYA but their A is too too big.

[OldWarBaby]

not as bad: Yeah, Musk wasn’t claiming huge numbers of un-identified SSA recipiants-—just a bunch of inactive SSN’s.

One aspect of what I was getting at earlier is that one isn’t required to list a SSN to die. When people die at home or maybe in accidents there is no particular requirement that survivors dig up a SSN. And remember it’s still illegal for anyone other than ones employer and the SSA to demand ones SSN.

And there is no formal system to verify any particular SSN is no longer being used. Probably should be some sort of default check, like , say when a number has been assigned for 75, or so, years, a letter could go out to the last known address?

Some, maybe most, of those hundred plus Y/O numbers have to be from people born before WW I who later got SSN’s, then died with no reporting to SSA. I’ve seen that in my own family——still have their cards.