A lawmaker wants to make sure that the Social Security Administration and other federal agencies are verifying whether the oldest program beneficiaries are still alive.
Rep. Gregory Steube, R-Fla., introduced H.R. 3659, the Valid Benefits Act, Thursday.
The bill would require the head of each federal department or agency that provides benefits to individuals ages 105 or older to "ensure, on a semiannual basis, that each such individual remains eligible for such benefits."
Steube cited reports that the Social Security Administration had classified 12 million beneficiaries as being ages 120 or older because of problems with records.
"With millions of seniors relying on Social Security and Medicare and our national debt approaching $37 trillion, it is important to make sure every dollar is spent the right way with no room for malfeasance or error," Steube said. "That is why we must protect our retirement programs and beneficiaries by requiring eligibility verification for individuals who are 105 years and older."
The backdrop: In 2020, the U.S. Census Bureau found that 10,946 people were believed to be ages 105 or older.
Some policy watchers have argued that critics of the federal government have exaggerated reports about 120-year-olds receiving benefits and other signs of benefit payment problems because of misunderstandings about how federal records and beneficiary eligibility verification programs work.
Life and annuity issuers regularly check Social Security records and obituary services to determine whether life insurance policyholders and annuity contract holders are still alive.
The Social Security Office of the Inspector General found in 2023 that the Social Security Administration had inadequate efforts for verifying the status of very old beneficiaries but was using a variety of information sources to try to determine beneficiaries' status.
Bill details: The requirement would apply for benefit payments made on or after Dec. 31, 2025.
It would affect people getting Medicare benefits and other types of federal health and retirement benefits as well as Social Security benefits.
At press time, the text of the bill was not available in the official Congress.gov database, but a draft was posted here.
The bill is under the jurisdiction of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
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