The post offices (and later the Bureau's field offices) kept carbon copies of the OA-702 to use should an individual request a replacement card (Wyatt and Wandel1937, 58). In 2022, for every dollar you pay in Social Security payroll tax, 85 cents goes towards the Social Security trust fund that pays monthly benefits to current retirees and their families (and. 2 Stuart Rick, a Census Bureau representative on this committee, foresaw that the SSN would eventually become part of three registration episodesbirth, employment, and deathand looked "toward the ultimate acceptance of universal registration" (McKinley and Frase1970, 322). . The Department of Treasury requires SeriesH savings bond buyers to provide. Noncitizens who dont have Social Security numbers are exempt from providing a Social Security number in many situations that normally require it, including getting a drivers license, registering for school, getting private health insurance, or applying for public assistance like subsidized housing. I need to order a replacement social security card, but Social Security has lost my account. A Social Security number (SSN) is a nine-digit number that the United States government issues to all U.S. citizens and eligible U.S. residents who apply for one. According to the Social Security Administration, more than 450 million Social Security numbers have . When the time comes to retire, or if you ever need to receive Social Security disability income, the government uses the information about your contributions to Social Security to determine your eligibility and calculate your benefit payments. If you live in one of 45 participating states or the District of Columbia, and are requesting a replacement card with no changes, like a name change, you can use our free online service. No datec. Social Security numbers: Social Security cards issued by Woolworth. In addition, all foreign-born applicants for replacement cards were required to submit evidence of citizenship/alien status. For instance, employees referred to the index when a worker who had lost his or her card and did not know the SSN applied for a duplicate (SSA1964 and Staruch1978, 29). Employees were permitted to return the completed SS-5 application either to the employer, to any labor organization of which the employee was a member, to the letter carrier, to the post office by hand, or to the post office via mail (Wyatt and Wandel1937, 54). For the most part, people on the east coast have the lowest area numbers and those on the west coast have the highest area numbers. McKinley, Charles, and RobertW. Frase. Lockhart, JamesB. The seven options that SSA developed included: SSA estimated that the cost at that time of issuing an enhanced card to almost 300million card holders would range, depending on the type of card, from $5.1billion to $10.5billion. Available at www.socialsecurity.gov/history/ssn/misused.html. The history of the Social Security card. . Social Security Bulletin 56(1): 8386. There's an important number between those two that you should really be aware of: your full retirement age, or FRA. For more on this, please visit our, For your security, we do not have access to private information in this venue. Why is SSN so important? 7 Images of the posters are available at www.socialsecurity.gov/history/pubaffairs.html. Unpublished internal document. During the initial registration in 1936 and 1937, businesses with branches throughout the country had employees return their SS-5 Application for Account Number to their national headquarters, so these SSNs carried the area number where the headquarters were located. Here's Why You Might Never Receive the Maximum Social Security Benefit -- and Why That's Perfectly OK, 3 Reasons to Claim Social Security Before Age 65. These numbers were first introduced in 1936 as a means of tracking earnings histories for U.S. workers. Federal survey-takers are also finding that as respondents have become more aware of the risk of identity theft, they are less willing to supply SSNs that are useful in linking the agency's survey data with administrative records from other agencies. 2004. That's much less than the four-decade high 8.7% COLA in 2023 but above last . You must have it. In September1992, SSA began to annotate Social Security cards for aliens with temporary work authorization "valid for work only with INS [now DHS] authorization.". The post office mailed the completed Social Security cards to the employer, unless the employee had taken the SS-5 to the post office in person and waited for the typed card. I have always refused to give it to any provider but I currently have one that is insisting. This token would help employers accurately report an individual's earnings under the program. Today we take the 9-digit composition of the SSN as a given, but in 1935 and 1936 many other schemes were considered. . In 1961, issuance of original SSNs was centralized in Baltimore, but local offices continued to issue replacement cards. Furthermore, knowing your FRA will help you determine whether it pays to work and collect Social Security at the same time. Meaning of the Social Security number. Amy Fontinelle has more than 15 years of experience covering personal finance, corporate finance and investing. Many businesses will ask for your Social Security number simply because its a convenient way for them to identify customers. It was estimated that it would have taken 250tons of metal for initial registration. SSA makes changes in Numident SS-5 data only upon receipt of updated information from the SSN holder. The Veterans Affairs Regional Office (VARO) in Manila also accepts SS-5 applications for an original SSN or a replacement card, as do all U.S. Foreign Service posts and all military posts outside the United States. Madison, WI: The University of Wisconsin Press. 12 In certain limited situations, SSA may delete an iteration and add a new one to correct errors. The conditions are highly restrictive. I have called the main number after being on hold 2 hrs Inwas told to contact local office(port st lucie Florida) 6 This pamphlet is available at www.socialsecurity.gov/history/ssb36.html. Latent images that can be seen when the card is viewed at an angle. But at a meeting on January23, 1936, the unemployment compensation delegates objected to the use of digits to signify age because they thought a number of workers would falsify their age. A Social Security Number, or SSN, is important in background screening because it is used to verify identity, retrieve address history, and can be used as an identifier (when it is available). Ledger sheets for maintaining earnings records, in numerical order. The task force was formed in January2006 and included several other agencies, such as the FBI, the DoS, and the Government Printing Office. This scheme would permit the prenumbering of registration forms and was capable of expansion to nearly 1billion accounts (McKinley and Frase1970, 342344). In all, SSA received 40,000incorrect earnings reports under this SSN, which had to be reassigned laboriously to proper SSNs. 97-123) added alteration and forgery of a Social Security card to the list of prohibited acts and also increased the penalties for such acts. Founded in 1993 by brothers Tom and David Gardner, The Motley Fool helps millions of people attain financial freedom through our website, podcasts, books, newspaper column, radio show, and premium investing services. 1947. The state then submits this information to SSA's Help America Vote Verification (HAVV) system to verify that the submitted data match SSA records. Reports Book, 193536. This article explores the history and meaning of the SSN and the Social Security card, along with SSA's SSN master data file, generally known as the Numident. Age 70 is when credits for delaying your benefits stop accruing. SSA worked with the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, the Secret Service, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to design a card that met these requirements. For more on this, please visit our Frequently Asked Questions. Please be aware our call volume is higher than normal. In addition, the SS-5s were filmed on 16millimeter, noninflammable film strips. A Social Security number (SSN) is a nine-digit number that the United States government issues to all U.S. citizens and eligible U.S. residents who apply for one. All noncitizens enumerated through EaE receive an SSN in the special area number series 729 through 733. Although SSA has made the card counterfeit-resistant, the card does not contain information that would allow it to be used as proof of identity. The numerical register, in large loose-leaf books. Their effort resulted in a list of 2.4million employers (McKinley and Frase1970, 344345 and 368). Other features not obvious to the naked eye were also added. Medicare enrollment requires enumerating those aged65 or older. Race was considered a necessary piece of information for actuarial purposes because of differences in life expectancy among different races. Permanent Residents. The Social Security Act in operation: A practical guide to the federal and federal-state Social Security programs. The deficiency of such a scheme was already well known. What Is a Social Security Number? - SmartAsset As a result, given present rates of assignment and existing geographic allocations, several states currently have fewer than 10years' worth of SSNs available for assignment. Another round of Social Security checks is coming from the Social Security Administration this week. Suspend your Social Security number (SSN). You need a Social Security number to get a job, collect government benefits, and use for identification. Not all U.S. workers obtained SSNs during the initial registration period. This database provides the same basic functionality as the Alphident. If your card is lost or stolen, youll want to apply for a new one. And still the job was not finished. OASIS. In 1988, to prevent photocopy counterfeits, a security feature that displays as "void" when photocopied was added. Third party evidence is necessary for SSA to substantiate an individual's allegation of SSN misuse. In the process of modernizing SSA's master files, this file was converted to an IBM DB2 relational database linked to the Numident file. We hope this is resolved soon. You can also contact yourlocalSocial Security office. Maybe you're still working, or maybe you have a healthy enough retirement savings fund that you're doing just fine without that extra money. At its inception, the SSN's only purpose was to uniquely identify U.S. workers, enabling employers to submit accurate reports of covered earnings for use in administering benefits under the new Social Security program. On November18, 2008, President GeorgeW. Bush issued EO13478 rescinding the 1943EO requiring all federal agencies to use the SSN as an identifier. /julyaugust1985.pdf. 10 Myths and Misconceptions About Social Security - AARP For your security, we do not have access to private information in this venue. In addition to developing verification systems to allow authorized users to determine if SSN information matches SSA data, SSA has also taken steps to help guard against fraudulent Social Security cards. But you don't have to have the social security number of the job applicants. In the end, the Board got it both waysthe Post Office Department agreed to accept returned SS-5s without postage on October8, 1936, and the Treasury Department issued the regulations making the SSN mandatory on November6, 1936 (McKinley and Frase1970, 351352 and 360). The Baltimore Records Office used a nine-step process to create a permanent master record and to establish an earnings record for each individual.10 One hundred applications and office record cards, numbered consecutively, were sent through each operation together with a control unit of nine cards (one for each step). Since then, use of the SSN has expanded substantially. Social Security Bulletin 1(5): 36. SSA pioneers recall the early days. July 22, 2023 5:00 a.m. PT. Plan for Medicare., U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs. In July1937 alone, Bureau field offices issued some 1.9million additional SSNs (McKinley and Frase1970, 368373). Today, automated systems with sophisticated matching routines screen for previously issued SSNs. Anything as important as your Social Security card deserves a home. Program operations manual system. The universality of SSN ownership has in turn led to the SSN's adoption by private industry as a unique identifier. This change was recommended by employer groups to help them distinguish the correct last name of an employee. You need a Social Security number to get a job, open a bank account, insure your automobile, take out a loan, apply for a credit card . That number could be the difference between reducing your monthly benefit in retirement or enjoying a higher income stream for life. Each OA-702 had a detachable portion on which the employee's name was typed and then returned to the employeethe Social Security card. The Purpose of Having a Social Security Number - Investopedia E-Verify automatically matches this information against SSA's Numident, as well as DHS immigration records if the hire is a noncitizen. Discarded mail and documents are a magnet for identity thieves. SSA will assign a new SSN to a victim of harassment, abuse, or life endangerment if the individual provides evidence to substantiate the allegations. The card was never intended to serve as a personal identification documentthat is, it does not establish that the person presenting the card is actually the person whose name and SSN appear on the card.