Social Security Corrects Tens of Millions of Records in Largest Cleanup in Its 91-Year History: 17 Million Death Dates Added, 25 Million Citizenship Records Updated
The Social Security Administration (SSA) announced in Baltimore, Maryland, on October 20 that it has made substantial progress in strengthening the accuracy and integrity of the Social Security Number (SSN) database, describing the work as the most comprehensive SSN record clean-up in the agency's 91-year history. Since the beginning of the current administration, SSA has corrected nearly 15 percent of all active SSNs, across approximately 330 million U.S. citizens and nearly 390 million total records.
The effort has three main parts. SSA has added 17 million dates of death to records that previously lacked this information, using a combination of internal SSA systems and Department of State data. Through data received from the Department of Homeland Security's Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) service, SSA has updated approximately 25 million records that previously had missing citizenship information. The agency is also in the process of correcting an additional 8.5 million records with inaccurate citizenship status.
SSA said its records are referenced by agencies across the federal government and in the states to validate identities, prevent improper payments of taxpayer dollars and support the proper administration of benefits. For beneficiaries, the announcement concerns identity fields in the database, such as dates of death and citizenship information; it does not announce changes to the amounts or payment schedules of retirement, disability or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits.
"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. Accurate SSN records prevent fraud across federal programs and support the proper administration of benefits," said Commissioner Frank J. Bisignano. "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."
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 社会保障局局长 Frank J. Bisignano 官方肖像。照片：美国国税局，公共领域，经维基共享资源／Official portrait of Social Security Commissioner Frank J. Bisignano. Photo: Internal Revenue Service, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
