Official records claim a staggering 6.5million 'super-centurions ' have reached the grand age of 112 in the U.S. - but it is all down to missing death certificates . A record-keeping blip means Social Security records appear to show America has a group of super-centenarians equal to the population of El Salvador . But in fact there are only 19 people who say they are over the age of 112 in the U.S. today , and Social Security admits there are only 13 still getting benefits . Mistake : A record-keeping blip means Social Security records appear to show America has a group of super-centenarians equal to the population of El Salvador ( stock picture ) Record-holder : Just 19 women are over the age of 122 in America , with Gertrude Weaver , of Arkansas , pictured , the oldest among them at 116 years and 255 days old . The error has been caused because Social Security does not have death records for millions of people , the oldest of whom was born in 1869 . That would mean , were that person still alive , they would be 146 years old - 24 years older than the oldest living person in history , Frenchwoman Jeanne Calment , who was 122 when she died in 1997 . They would also be considerably older than America 's oldest living resident , Gertrude Weaver of Arkansas , who is 116 years and 255 days old . But far from being something to chuckle about , Republican Senator Ron Johnson , who represents Wisconsin , has raised it as a cause for concern . It means there are millions of Social Security numbers which are still active , so a number could be used to report wages , open bank accounts , obtain credit cards or claim fraudulent tax refunds . Problem : Senator Ron Johnson , pictured , says the active numbers are an issue as they can be used illegally . 'That is a real problem , ' said Senator Johnson . 'When you have a fake Social Security number , that 's what allows you to fraudulently do all kinds things , claim things like the earned income tax credit or other tax benefits . ' Johnson is chairman of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs , which plans a hearing Monday on problems with death records maintained by the Social Security Administration . The agency said it is working to improve the accuracy of its death records . However , it would be costly and time-consuming to update 6.5million files created at a time when the agency used paper records , said Sean Brune , a senior adviser to the agency 's deputy commissioner for budget , finance , quality and management . President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act in 1935 , and the first old-age monthly benefit check was paid in 1940 . 'The records in this review are extremely old , decades-old , and unreliable , ' Brune said . The internal watchdog 's report does not document any fraudulent or improper payments to people using these Social Security numbers - but it raises red flags that it could be happening . Landmark : President Franklin Roosevelt signs the Social Security bill in Washington in 1935 . For example , nearly 67,000 of the Social Security numbers were used to report more than $ 3billion in wages , tips and self-employment income from 2006 to 2011 , according to the report . One Social Security number was used 613 different times , while 194 numbers were used at least 50 times each . Illegal immigrants often use fake or stolen Social Security numbers to get jobs and report wages , as do other people who do not want to be found by the government , and thieves are known to use stolen Social Security numbers to claim fraudulent tax refunds . The IRS estimated it paid out $ 5.8billion in fraudulent tax refunds in 2013 because of identity theft . But the Social Security Administration is trying to combat the problem , generating a list of dead people known as the 'Death Master File ' , so employers can compare the numbers they are given with those which should no longer be in use . But none of the 6.5million people cited by the inspector general 's report was on the list .
Millions of active numbers from people who would now be over 112 . But there are only 19 women who are 112 or over in the U.S. today . Senator Ron Johnson fears the active records could be used fraudulently . Social Security Administration is currently working to deal with problem . But solving the issue is both costly and time consuming , adviser has said .