Elon Musk has said that Social Security benefits could increase as the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) continues its investigations into the Social Security Administration (SSA).

As billionaire Trump advisor Elon Musk continues to fire staff, cancel contracts, and eliminate office leases across the federal government, retirees, Social Security advocates, and Democratic politicians are fretting about what could happen to the agency that delivers cash benefits to some 73 million Americans each month—one charged with paying out $1.

Billionaire Elon Musk has said there is widespread fraud taking place in the payment of "federal entitlements" like Social Security. Social Security benefits are paid to more than 70 million Americans on a monthly basis, and help form the bedrock of income for many retirees, survivors of deceased claimants and disabled people.

Elon Musk falsely claimed there were tens of millions of people aged 100-159 still receiving Social Security benefits.

Elon Musk indicated that a Social Security database lists millions of centenarians "with the death field set to FALSE."

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) says it is closing a Social Security Administration office in Michigan as part of ongoing cuts in the federal government. The agency -- headed up by Elon Musk -- posted the cut on the DOGE website this week.

The billionaire's claims about millions of dead people on Social Security are dead wrong. The real problem is a shrinking workforce paying into the system.

Government computer systems are full of legacy quirks, and upgrading and updating them is a huge and often-fraught endeavor.