The Social Security Administration has corrected tens of millions of records in what the agency calls the most comprehensive cleanup of its Social Security number database in its 91-year history.
The agency announced the changes Tuesday, Oct. 20, saying the effort is intended to improve the accuracy of its records, prevent fraud and help ensure government benefits are administered properly.
Since the beginning of the Trump administration, the SSA says it has corrected nearly 15% of active Social Security numbers across a database containing nearly 390 million total records.
Here’s what changed and what it could mean for Social Security recipients and other Americans.
According to the SSA, the cleanup focused on missing or inaccurate information in its Social Security number database.
The agency reported three major updates:
The agency also said it has strengthened internal controls to help prevent future errors caused by manual data entry.
The SSA says accurate records help federal and state agencies verify identities, prevent fraud and reduce improper payments across government programs.
Social Security records are used in administering benefits and other government services. Missing or incorrect information can create problems when agencies attempt to verify a person’s identity or determine eligibility.
SSA Commissioner Frank J. Bisignano said accurate records are essential to maintaining the integrity of government services and ensuring benefits are properly administered.
The agency described the effort as the first record-integrity initiative of this scale in its history.
The announcement focuses on correcting information in the Social Security number database. The SSA did not announce any changes to benefit eligibility rules or payment amounts as part of the cleanup.
The agency also did not say in its announcement that the corrections would result in benefit changes for individual recipients.
However, accurate records are important to the administration of programs such as retirement, disability and survivor benefits. For example, death records can help agencies determine when benefits should stop or whether eligible family members may qualify for survivor benefits.
If you receive Social Security benefits, the announcement alone does not mean your payments are changing.
The SSA’s announcement does not instruct people to submit new documents or take specific action because of the database cleanup.
If you want to review your Social Security information, you can sign in to your online my Social Security account to check available information, including your earnings history and benefit details, if applicable.
If you discover an error in your records or experience an unexpected interruption in your benefits, contact the Social Security Administration directly for help.
The SSA says it is continuing to correct approximately 8.5 million records with inaccurate citizenship information. It also plans to use stronger internal controls to help prevent future data-entry errors.
The agency says the broader effort is intended to strengthen the accuracy of the Social Security number database and improve the administration of government programs.
