A rumor circulating online since mid-February 2025 claimed the Department of Governmental Efficiency (DOGE) uncovered 394 million people receiving Social Security benefits, despite the U.S. having only 344 million citizens.
One Facebook post (archived), with over 314,000 reactions, read: "BREAKING - Elon Musk and DOGE have discovered that there are 394 million Social Security recipients in the U.S. Despite the country having only 334 million citizens, a discrepancy of more than 60 million."
The claim spread across multiple social media platforms, including Facebook, LinkedIn, Threads, Instagram, and X.
However, the claim that DOGE found 394 million Social Security recipients is false. As of this writing, approximately 69 million people receive Social Security benefits each month. The 394 million figure cited in the rumor likely refers to the number of records in the Social Security database — not the number of active recipients.
Moreover, posts spreading the rumor claimed the U.S. had "only 334 million citizens." As of this writing, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated the total population at around 342 million, but this number includes all residents, both citizens and noncitizens. The exact number of U.S. citizens is unclear, especially since several million are estimated to be living abroad.
Origins of the rumor
The rumor likely originated from a post (archived) that Elon Musk, tech billionaire and public face of DOGE, shared on Feb. 17, 2025, reading: "According to the Social Security database, these are the numbers of people in each age bucket with the death field set to FALSE! Maybe Twilight is real and there are a lot of vampires collecting Social Security ??"
According to the Social Security database, these are the numbers of people in each age bucket with the death field set to FALSE!
Maybe Twilight is real and there are a lot of vampires collecting Social Security ?? pic.twitter.com/ltb06VX98Z— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 17, 2025
Musk shared a table that appeared to show the number of individuals in the Social Security database by age group, all marked as "alive" — with the "death field" set to "FALSE." While social media posts cited a total of 394 million, the actual sum of the figures in Musk's table was even higher: 398,416,213. This figure includes individuals who have Social Security numbers and are listed as alive in the database, not active recipients of Social Security benefits.
In a follow-up post, Musk wrote, "Yes, there are FAR more 'eligible' social security numbers than there are citizens in the USA."
Yes, there are FAR more "eligible" social security numbers than there are citizens in the USA.
This might be the biggest fraud in history.— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 17, 2025
BBC Verify journalist Shayan Sardarizadeh shared a screenshot showing that Musk had reposted a tweet with the in-question rumor. However, as of this writing, the original post was no longer available.
The claim that there are 394 million social security recipients in the US, as retweeted by Elon Musk, is wide off the mark.
According to official figures, the actual number of social security recipients in the US in 2024 was 68.4 million people.https://t.co/dwPtfJabPk pic.twitter.com/yypVvHmK4L— Shayan Sardarizadeh (@Shayan86) March 13, 2025
69 million receive Social Security benefits
According to a fact sheet from the Social Security Administration (SSA), "in 2025, an average of almost 69 million Americans per month will receive a Social Security benefit, totaling about $1.6 trillion in benefits paid during the year."
The SSA's Monthly Statistical Snapshot for February 2025, released in March, reported 68.7 million beneficiaries that month (see image below).
(SSA.gov)
Therefore, the actual number of Social Security recipients was around 69 million, not 394 million.
Counting US Citizens
Posts spreading the rumor claimed the U.S. had "only 334 million citizens."
As of this writing, according to the United States Census Bureau, the U.S. population was 341,554,233. However, this number shows not only citizens but "people whose usual residence is in the 50 states and the District of Columbia," meaning potentially noncitizens. Additionally, "these projections do not include members of the Armed Forces overseas, their dependents, or other U.S. citizens residing outside the United States."
The exact number of U.S. citizens is difficult to determine. While the U.S. Census does not directly report the number of noncitizens, it does note that, as of July 2024, approximately 13.9% of the population was foreign-born. However, it remains unclear how many of those individuals had acquired U.S. citizenship.
Moreover, several million of U.S. citizens are estimated to be living abroad. In October 2024, the Association of Americans Resident Overseas (AARO) estimated that 5.5 million Americans live abroad, noting that other estimates range from 9 to 3 million. "There will always be a level of uncertainty about the true number of overseas U.S. citizens because actual numbers are either unavailable or unreliable," the organization highlighted, adding that the U.S. government "does not keep track of where U.S. citizens might be living, working, or studying overseas."
Additionally, recipients of Social Security benefits are not limited to U.S. citizens. Some noncitizens who are lawfully residing in the United States may also be eligible for Social Security benefits, but they must meet specific requirements, such as having a Social Security number and meeting certain work-history requirements.
Other DOGE and Social Security rumors
Since the new administration took office, we've investigated numerous claims regarding DOGE and Social Security.
For instance, we debunked a false rumor claiming DOGE discovered that a Louisiana man was using 34 different names, addresses, and Social Security numbers to collect more than $1 million annually in Social Security benefits.
We have also investigated a claim by U.S. President Donald Trump that the "government databases list 4.7 million Social Security members from people aged 100 to 109." As we've explained, the SSA does more than just send out payments — it is also in charge of registering unique Social Security numbers and their related information for nearly every legal resident in the U.S. The government and businesses then use these numbers to identify individuals and to track their financial records.
For more articles on the topic, check out our collection of claims we've analyzed about Social Security.