President Franklin Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law on Aug. 14, 1935. Following are some milestones that mark the history of the program:
Oct. 14, 1936. The new Social Security Board (the name would later be changed to the Social Security Administration) opened its first field office. It was in Austin, Texas. Today, there are about 1,300 Social Security offices across America. There are even offices in faraway places such as Guam and American Samoa.
Nov. 24, 1936. The Social Security Board began issuing Social Security numbers through local post offices. The first SS number was issued to a man in New Rochelle, N.Y. But the lowest number ever issued, 001-01-0001, went to a woman in Concord, N.H. Sixty-eight years later, more than 400 million Social Security numbers have been issued.
June 2, 1937 (local milestone). Social Security opened a field office in Bridgeport. Today, the Bridgeport Social Security office pays out approximately $50 million to nearly 60,000 beneficiaries.
Aug. 10, 1939. The Social Security law was amended to include benefits to the spouses and children of retirees and to the widows and children of workers who died. In addition to more than 29 million retirees, monthly benefits are paid to more than 3 million of their spouses and children. And Social Security sends monthly survivor benefits to about 7 million widows, widowers and children.
Jan. 31,
Fuller's first SS check was in the amount of $22.54. She lived until the age of 100 and passed away in January 1975. In her 35 years as a Social Security beneficiary, she received more than $22,000 in benefits.
Aug. 1, 1956. The disability program was added to Social Security. Today, more than 5 million people with severe disabilities get monthly benefits, along with another 1.7 million spouses and children.
July 30, 1965. The Medicare program was born. Although it's part of the Social Security Act and for many years was managed by the Social Security Administration, beginning in 1977, control was turned over to the newly created Health Care Financing Administration (now called the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services).
Oct. 30, 1972. The 1972 Social Security Amendments were signed into law, including the creation of a new program called Supplemental Security Income. SSI is a needs-based program that today pays monthly benefits to more than 6 million low-income elderly, blind and disabled people. Although the SSI program is managed by the Social Security Administration, it is not a Social Security benefit. SSI payments are funded by general tax revenues, not Social Security taxes.
Oct. 1, 1988. The Social Security Administration launched a nationwide 800number service. Today, that number (1-800-772-1213) is one of the most frequently called 800 numbers in the world. Last year, SSA received more than 60 million calls on this line.
Oct. 1, 1999. Social Security began mailing 125 million Social Security statements to workers 25 years of age or older. Statements are now sent on an annual basis.
April 7, 2000. The Senior Citizens' Freedom to Work Act of 2000 (P.L. 106-182) was signed into law. The act eliminated the Retirement Earnings Test for beneficiaries at or above full retirement age.
Dec. 8, 2003. The Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003 was signed into law.
Oct. 15, 2007. The nation's first baby boomer filed for Social Security retirement benefits - online.
July 21, 2008. Social Security unveils a new online calculator at www.socialsecurity.gov/estimat or that will provide immediate and personalized benefit estimates to help people plan retirement.
Reaching age 65 or full retirement age in 2008? - If you will turn 65 or reach full retirement age in 2008 and have not filed a Social Security or Medicare application, we can provide you with information that will be helpful in determining when to file an application. Mail us the following information:
- Your name.
- Social Security number.
- Estimated 2007 earnings.
- Estimated 2008 earnings.
- Complete mailing address.
- Telephone number (both
home and work).
-Date of birth.
- If you plan to retire in 2008, month in which you would.
- Spouse's Social Security number.
- Spouse's date of birth.
- If spouse is deceased, give date
of death.
Send it to: Your Social Security, Social Security Administration, 3885 Main St., 3rd Floor, Bridgeport CT 06606. Attn: A. Renzoni.
Anthony Renzoni is district manager of the Bridgeport office of the Social Security Administration. His column appears every Monday.
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