Everything about Social Security Administration totally explained
The
United States Social Security Administration (
SSA) is an
independent agency of the United States
federal government that administers
Social Security, a
social insurance program consisting of
retirement, disability, and survivors' benefits. To qualify for these benefits, most American workers pay Social Security taxes on their earnings; future benefits are based on the employees' contributions.
The Social Security Administration was established by a law currently codified at . Its current commissioner is
Michael J. Astrue, who was sworn in on
February 12,
2007 and whose six-year term expires on
January 19,
2013.
SSA is headquartered in
Woodlawn,
Maryland, just to the west of
Baltimore, at what is known as Central Office. The agency includes 10 regional offices, 8 processing centers, approximately 1300 field offices, and 37 Teleservice Centers. As of
2007, about 62,000 people were employed by the SSA.
History
The Social Security Act created a Social Security Board (SSB), to oversee the administration of the new program. It was created as part of President
Franklin D. Roosevelt's
New Deal with the signing of
Social Security Act of 1935,
August 14 1935. The Board consisted of three presidentially appointed executives, and started with no budget, no staff, and no furniture. It obtained a temporary budget from the
Federal Emergency Relief Administration headed by
Harry Hopkins. The first person to receive a Social Security benefit was Ernest Ackerman, who was paid 17 cents in January 1937. This was a one-time, lump-sum pay-out, which was the only form of benefits paid during the start-up period January 1937 through December 1939. The first person to receive monthly retirement benefits was Ida Mae Fuller of Brattleboro, Vermont. Her first check, dated January 31, 1940 was in the amount of US$22.54.
In 1939, the Social Security Board merged into a
cabinet-level
Federal Security Agency, which included the SSB, the
U.S. Public Health Service, the
Civilian Conservation Corps, and other agencies. In January 1940, the first regular ongoing monthly benefits were begun.
In 1946, the SSB was renamed the Social Security Administration under President
Harry S. Truman's Reorganization Plan.
In 1972,
Cost of Living Adjustments (COLAs) were introduced into SSA programs to deal with the effects of
inflation on
fixed incomes.
In 1953, the Federal Security Agency was abolished and the SSA was placed under the
Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. HEW became the
Department of Health and Human Services in 1980. In 1994, President
Bill Clinton signed into law returning the SSA to the status of an independent agency in the executive branch of government.
Leaders
Chairmen of Social Security Board
Commissioners
Arthur J. Altmeyer (1946-1953)
John W. Tramburg (1953-1954)
Charles I. Schottland (1954-1958)
William L. Mitchell (1959-1962)
Robert M. Ball (1962-1973)
James B. Cardwell (1973-1977)
Stanford G. Ross (1978-1979)
William J. Driver (1980-1981)
John A. Svahn (1981-1983)
Martha A. McSteen (1983-1986)
Dorcas R. Hardy (1986-1989)
Gwendolyn S. King (1989-1992)
Shirley S. Chater (1993-1997)
Kenneth S. Apfel (1997-2001)
Jo Anne B. Barnhart (2001-2007)
Michael J. Astrue (2007-present)
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Further Information
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