Decoding the Mystery of Social Security and Centenarians
In recent years, rumors have abounded that scores of deceased individuals are mysteriously receiving Social Security benefits. While such claims capture the imagination and stir debate, the truth lies in a tapestry woven from outdated government systems, custom-built solutions by past generations, and modern-day misunderstandings. The real protagonist in this tale is COBOL—a venerable programming language developed in the 1950s that remains at the core of the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) infrastructure.
The Legacy of COBOL
Common Business Oriented Language, or COBOL, has been the backbone of the SSA's IT structure for decades. With over 60 million lines of code, it supports the essential operations of processing retirement and disability claims. However, COBOL's age comes with quirks, particularly in how it handles date information. Without a standardized method for date storage, programmers historically resorted to placeholder dates, leading to notable oddities such as the spurious cases of 150-year-old Social Security recipients.
A peculiar date, May 20, 1875, emerged as a common placeholder. If applicants were unable to provide a birth date, they were often assigned this date, coincidentally marking the establishment of the International Bureau of Weights and Measures, and thus the inception of the metric system according to ISO 8601 standards.
The Reality Behind the Numbers
The challenges extend beyond fictional centenarians. A 2011 SSA Inspector General report highlighted anomalies like a surge in the number of individuals with birthdates in the year 1900, likely due to data entry clerks using convenient dates for the elderly. Combined with the manual transfer of records from paper and microfilm pre-1950, these historical data processes hardly left room for the precision required today.
Nonetheless, fraud remains exceedingly rare. Systems such as the Statement of Death by Funeral Directors (Form SSA-721) are in place to ensure deceased individuals are removed from rolls. Modern checks since 2015 automatically suspend payments to those ostensibly exceeding 115 years of age, confirming that social programs remain safeguarded against mythical beneficiaries.
An Aging Outside of Social Security
This narrative extends beyond Social Security, revealing a broader landscape where antiquated systems still run pivotal public sector operations. As per the Government Accountability Office (GAO), numerous government systems continue to operate on legacy software older than many of the employees who manage them.
| Department | Function | Technology |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Education | Student Tracking | Legacy Systems |
| Department of Health and Human Services | Clinical Records | Old COBOL Systems |
| Medicare & Medicaid Services | Operations Management | COBOL |
| Internal Revenue Service (IRS) | Tax Processing | COBOL & IBM Assembler |
The Persistence of COBOL
Despite being a seasoned relic, COBOL's robust capabilities in handling large volumes of data keep it relevant. Behind the scenes of modern banking and insurance transactions, COBOL maintains its quiet dominance, underpinning 43% of banking systems and prevalent in 90% of banks globally. Its persistence is testament to its efficiency in data manipulation and reliability.
Challenges in Modernization
The transition from COBOL is fraught with challenges. Migrating or replacing millions of lines of this embedded code is a dizzying endeavor. Successful transitions, such as those undertaken by the UK’s Department for Work and Pensions and certain private sectors, offer templates—but they also highlight the significant investment required. The entanglement of business logic within COBOL applications compounds the complexity of disentanglement.
While critics argue against the expenditure on maintaining aging IT infrastructure, the colossal task and cost of full elimination cannot be ignored. Legacy COBOL applications embody decades of accumulated practices, often poorly documented and standardized, placing any overhaul on a daunting scale.
Looking Forward
As technology professionals and government agencies grapple with modernization, our gaze should remain on improving government IT funding and broadening IT efficiency measures. Until then, it appears COBOL will continue to play a critical, albeit hidden, role well into our future. Behind every transaction at an ATM, COBOL might still be crunching numbers, silently defying its obsolescence well beyond the current century.
