Numident
{{Short description|Database of the US Social Security Administration}}
Numident, or "Numerical Identification System,"Office of the Inspector General, Social Security Administration, [http://www.ssa.gov/oig/ADOBEPDF/audittxt/A-15-05-15117.htm Performance Indicator Audit] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605230846/http://www.ssa.gov/oig/ADOBEPDF/audittxt/A-15-05-15117.htm |date=2011-06-05 }}, 2005. is the Social Security Administration's computer database file of an abstract of the information contained in an application for a United States Social Security number (Form SS-5). It contains the name of the applicant, place and date of birth, and other information. The Numident file contains all Social Security numbers since they first were issued in 1936.
DOGE Social Security Records cleanup
In 2025, the Department of Government Efficiency participated in an effort to clean up Numident records that did not include a date of death. Initially, their announcements claimed that millions of people older than 110 years were fraudulently collecting Social Security benefits.{{cite web |title=Analyzing Musk's claim that '150-year-olds' are collecting Social Security payments |first1=Jack |last1=Izzo |first2=Grace |last2=Deng |date=February 18, 2025 |url=https://www.snopes.com/news/2025/02/18/musk-150-year-old-social-security/ |work=Snopes |access-date=2025-05-09}} However, it was later clarified by SSA that these are merely records of Social Security numbers issued to people whose death dates are not known, and who are not collecting any benefits.{{cite news |title=DOGE Cuts Update: 'Major Cleanup' of Social Security Nears Completion |date=April 25, 2025 |url=https://www.newsweek.com/doge-cuts-update-major-clean-social-security-death-records-2063996 |author=Aliss Higham |work=Newsweek |access-date=2025-05-09}}