This Day in History January, 31

According to the Social Security Department the very first Social Security check was issued on January 31, 1940. That first check was for $22.54. The woman who received the check was Ida May Fuller from Vermont. Ms. Fuller had paid into Social Security for three years at a grand total of $24.75. Ms. Fuller passed away at the age of 100 in 1975. During her retirement she collected a total of $22,888.92. She was 65 years of age when she began collecting her benefits.

Social Security was a result of Franklin Roosevelt's "New Deal". Roosevelt created a Social Security Board with 3 appointees. At first there were no other employees. Today the Social Security Administration has over 65,000 employees. I can only imagine how much money it takes to run such an organization. They are responsible for administering the monthly benefits for retirement, disability, and survivors of covered persons. They also issue social security cards, verify social security numbers, keep track of work records, and all the things necessary to administer such a huge program.

We have come a long way from those beginning days of Social Security. Now days, when children are first born, they are given a social security number at birth. It used to be that you didn't actually apply for a card until you needed it to begin employment.

Initially, all individuals who reached age 65 were eligible for full benefits. Now, if you are born later than 1960, your full retirement age will be 67. Who knows if this will change again? It has been suggested that the retirement age be increased to age 70. For some time now many have said that you shouldn't count on Social Security as you plan for retirement. It is estimated that last year 60 million people were paid benefits; this includes Social Security and Supplemental Security Income.

I have heard, as probably a lot of you have, that Social Security was never intended to be a retirement fund, but the Social Security Administration itself states, "Since 1935, the Social Security Administration has moved from an agency that provides old-age benefits and Social Security Numbers to an agency that provides a wide range of benefits and services." All I know is that a lot of us have paid into it all of our working lives and it's worrisome, to say the least, to know that it's not sustainable in its present form.

Source:
http://www.socialsecurity.gov/history/imf.html
http://www.socialsecurity.gov/finance/2009/Overview%20SSA.pdf