Social Security History (2024)

FAQs

Social Security History? ›

Q1: When did Social Security start? A: The Social Security Act was signed by FDR on 8/14/35. Taxes were collected for the first time in January 1937 and the first one-time, lump-sum payments were made that same month. Regular ongoing monthly benefits started in January 1940.

The Social Security Act was signed into law by President Roosevelt on August 14, 1935. In addition to several provisions for general welfare, the new Act created a social insurance program designed to pay retired workers age 65 or older a continuing income after retirement.

It was 30 years ago when President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act of 1935 and made it the law of the land.

In August 1987, SSA began a three-state pilot of the "Enumeration at Birth" ( EAB ) process in which the parent of a newborn can request an SSN as part of the state's birth registration process. Additional states began to participate in EAB in July 1988.

January 31, 1940 Ida M. Fuller became the first person to receive an old-age monthly benefit check under the new Social Security law. She paid in $24.75 between 1937 and 1939 on an income of $2,484. Her first check, dated January 31, was for $22.54.

Social Insurance Movement

The Progressive Party platform can be seen as the forerunner of the Social Security program that TR's cousin, Franklin Roosevelt, would successfully push through Congress in 1935. Library of Congress photo.

A3. The taxation of Social Security began in 1984 following passage of a set of Amendments in 1983, which were signed into law by President Reagan in April 1983. These amendments passed the Congress in 1983 on an overwhelmingly bi-partisan vote.

If you have no record of paying into the system, you will not receive payouts. If you have not reported income and evaded taxes for a lifetime, then you will receive no Social Security benefits.

Social Security income can be taxable no matter how old you are. It all depends on whether your total combined income exceeds a certain level set for your filing status. You may have heard that Social Security income is not taxed after age 70; this is false.

“Next time a Republican tells you that 'Social Security is broke,' remind them that Pres. Bush 'borrowed' $1.37 trillion of Social Security surplus revenue to pay for his tax cuts for the rich and his war in Iraq and never paid it back”.

What do the first 3 digits of your SSN mean? ›

The first set of three digits is called the Area Number. The second set of two digits is called the Group Number. The final set of four digits is the Serial Number.

There are millions of people who have SSNs, and some people think it is unique, but it is not, your number can match several people.

To date, 453.7 million different numbers have been issued. Q20: Are Social Security numbers reused after a person dies? A: No. We do not reassign a Social Security number (SSN) after the number holder's death.

If you earn above the income thresholds that trigger taxation at the federal level, and you live in one of the 13 states that also tax Social Security benefits to some varying degree, then, and only then, can your Social Security benefits be described as being taxed twice.

On December 1, 1936, as part of the publicity campaign for the new program, Joseph L. Fay of the Social Security Administration selected a record from the top of the first stack of 1,000 records and announced that the first Social Security number in history was assigned to John David Sweeney, Jr. of New Rochelle, New ...

Social Security offers a monthly benefit check to many kinds of recipients. As of December 2023, the average check is $1,767.03, according to the Social Security Administration – but that amount can differ drastically depending on the type of recipient. In fact, retirees typically make more than the overall average.

Social Security is financed through a dedicated payroll tax. Employers and employees each pay 6.2 percent of wages up to the taxable maximum of $168,600 (in 2024), while the self-employed pay 12.4 percent. The payroll tax rates are set by law, and for OASI and DI, apply to earnings up to a certain amount.

The fact is that Congress, despite borrowing $2.9 trillion from Social Security, hasn't pilfered or misappropriated a red cent from the program. Regardless of whether Social Security was presented as a unified budget under Lyndon B.

John David Sweeney, Jr.

Sweeney was the son of a wealthy factory owner, and had grown up in a 15-room Westchester County home staffed with servants. In an effort to learn the family business, Mr. Sweeney was working as a shipping clerk for his father at the time he filled out his application for a social security card.

On August 14, 1935, President Roosevelt signed the Act into law. A new agency—the Social Security Board (which later became the Social Security Administration)—was created to administer the new program.