This week, on August 14, 2013, was the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) 78th anniversary. To celebrate this milestone the SSA has created a special logo and a fifty minute documentary regarding the origins of the agency. To view the video please click here.
The SSA was originally called the Social Security Board. The act creating the Social Security Board was signed into law by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt on August 14, 1935. The Social Security Board was created to provide social insurance during the Great Depression to women, fatherless children and seniors. When initially created the Social Security Board did not have a budget or any employees. Employees from other government agencies were moved to assist the Social Security Board.
It wasn’t until 1946, that the Social Security Board was renamed the Social Security Administration, which remains the agency’s name today. Over its 78 year history the SSA has undergone many structural changes and has added many programs like Disability Insurance Benefits, Supplemental Security Income benefits and Medicare. For information on the history view the SSA’s Brief Graphic Organizational History.
Today, the SSA provides retirement, survivor and disability benefits to approximately 60 million people. The SSA has almost 66,000 employees and over 1,200 field offices to service the public. The SSA has also made numerous services available online at their website www.ssa.gov.
