The U.S. Treasury Department announced Tuesday that new safeguards have successfully flagged and prevented approximately $99 million in federal payments that were slated to be sent to deceased individuals. This initiative, which screened 885 million federal payments totaling nearly $2.7 trillion against expanded death records, marks a significant step in reducing government waste and fraud.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that the new safeguard addresses a longstanding vulnerability and helps ensure that taxpayer dollars reach their intended recipients. He also indicated that the department will continue modernizing the federal payment system and strengthening safeguards against fraud.
The effort is part of President Donald Trump's March 2025 Executive Order 14249, "Protecting America's Bank Account Against Fraud, Waste, and Abuse." In addition to the $99 million in prevented payments, more than 4,900 payments linked to deceased individuals were returned to federal agencies for further review.
The verification system utilizes Treasury's expanded access to the Social Security Administration’s Full Death Master File. Congress initially granted Treasury temporary access to this database through a three-year pilot program authorized by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021. The program was projected to yield approximately $330 million in net benefits from 2024 through 2026 by reducing improper payments. In February 2026, Congress passed and President Trump signed the Ending Improper Payments to Deceased People Act, introduced by Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., making Treasury's access to the database permanent.
Vice President JD Vance has been tasked by President Trump as the fraud czar to identify and eliminate government waste, fraud, and abuse. The Treasury Department plans to continue expanding this verification system across the federal government to prevent questionable payments before funds are disbursed.
Separately, Elon Musk, who heads the Department of Government Efficiency, previously highlighted concerns regarding the Social Security database, pointing to millions of individuals listed as alive with ages exceeding 100. Musk noted on X in February 2025 that the database indicated millions of people aged 100 and older were marked with the death field set to FALSE, humorously suggesting a high number of Social Security recipients might be vampires.