The Social Security Administration has announced a cleanup of the Social Security Number database intended to help prevent fraud and manage benefits.
According to reports from USA TODAY, the federal agency announced Oct. 20 that it completed the "most comprehensive" SSN record organization in its 91-year history. In a release, the agency noted nearly 15% of all active SSNs were corrected across almost 390 million total records since the beginning of President Donald Trump's second administration.
The records that underwent the overhaul are used by government agencies to validate the identities of U.S. citizens and ensure proper payments of taxpayer dollars, with SSA Commissioner Frank J. Bisignano calling the database "essential to maintaining
integrity of government services for citizens" in a statement.
Here's what to know in North Carolina, including who will be affected by the cleanup and more.
What is a Social Security database cleanup?
The Social Security database cleanup includes updated death records and "stronger internal controls" to prevent data entry inaccuracies. The cleanup is intended to help prevent fraud and ensure benefits are properly distributed, according to the agency.
"These improvements demonstrate a government‑wide commitment to safeguarding identity data, preventing fraud, and preserving proper program administration," the agency said in a release.
The database cleanup won't impact those who rely on SSA for benefits or monthly checks.
How did Social Security clean up the Social Security Number database?
The SSN database cleanup included the following measures, according to a release:
- Updates currently in progress to correct an additional 8.5 million records with inaccurate citizenship status
- Addition of 17 million dates of death to records that previously lacked this information
- SSA said this was done using a combination of internal SSA systems and Department of State data
- Updates to approximately 25 million records that previously had missing citizenship information
- SSA said this was done using data received from the Department of Homeland Security’s Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements service
How many people in North Carolina receive Social Security benefits?
The SSA website lists 217,030 N.C. residents receiving SSI benefits as of May 2025. The most recent data available for the state is for December 2024, when the agency identified 2,329,477 beneficiaries.
How many people in the U.S. receive Social Security benefits?
Across the nation, 74,090,000 people were receiving Social Security benefits as of May 2025. This includes 57,164,000 eligible due to their age and 16,927,000 eligible due to blindness, another disability or other reasons.
Iris Seaton is the trending news reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at iseaton@citizentimes.com.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Social Security Administration does database cleanup. What it means
