内容摘要：The Urakami Cathedral is seen in Nagasaki, southern Japan, Nov. 16, 2019. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)

The Urakami Cathedral is seen in Nagasaki, southern Japan, Nov. 16, 2019. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)

Umberto Rispoli, left, atop Journalism, edges out Luis Saez, atop Gosger, to win the 150th running of the Preakness Stakes horse race Saturday, May 17, 2025, at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)Children play in the waves on the Yemeni island of Socotra, on Sept. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Annika Hammerschlag)

Children play in the waves on the Yemeni island of Socotra, on Sept. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Annika Hammerschlag)President Donald Trump, right, is joined by Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., left, as he speaks with reporters upon his departure from the Capitol following a meeting with the House Republican Conference, Tuesday, May 20, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)President Donald Trump, right, is joined by Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., left, as he speaks with reporters upon his departure from the Capitol following a meeting with the House Republican Conference, Tuesday, May 20, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)

Hailee Allen holds a family picture saved from Lynn and Don White’s home after a tornado, Saturday, May 17, 2025, in London, Ky. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)Hailee Allen holds a family picture saved from Lynn and Don White’s home after a tornado, Saturday, May 17, 2025, in London, Ky. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

The car driven by Colton Herta goes airborne after hitting the wall in the first turn during a qualification attempt for the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Saturday, May 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirk DeBrunner)

The car driven by Colton Herta goes airborne after hitting the wall in the first turn during a qualification attempt for the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Saturday, May 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirk DeBrunner)Democrats hold signs as President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress in the House chamber at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, March 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Part of the confusion comes from Social Security’s software system based on the COBOL programming language, which doesn’t use a specific format for dates. This means that some entries with missing or incomplete birthdates will default to a reference point of more than 150 years ago. The news organization Wired first reported on the use of COBOL programming language at the Social Security Administration.Additionally, a series of

from the Social Security Administration’s inspector general in March 2023 and July 2024 state that the agency has not established a new system to properly annotate death information in its database, which included roughly 18.9 million Social Security numbers of people born in 1920 or earlier but were not marked as deceased. This does not mean, however, that these people were receiving benefits.The agency decided not to update the database because of the cost to do so, which would run upward of $9 million. As of September 2015, the agency automatically stops payments to people who are older than 115 years old.