For not just seniors but many other Americans, Social Security is a lifeline that makes their lives easier. People with disabilities also benefit from the program. But it wasn’t always that way.
A look at the original intent of Social Security shows how and why it was started. The devastating impact of the Great Depression showed the need for the government to provide help to the elderly, unemployed, and disadvantaged Americans.
Congress passed the Social Security Act, and it was signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1935. At first, it paid a financial benefit to retirees and widows aged 65 and older. The benefit was to be based on what would be paid by employers and workers through the payroll tax contribution.
The Act also created the Social Security Board to manage the program. It would later grow into the Social Security Administration, (SSA), which became a significant government bureaucracy as it grew over time.
We Want to Improve Your Benefits
You deserve all of the Social Security benefits you were promised — and earned!
Here at Council of Seniors, we’re dedicated to getting Congress to pass The SAVE Benefits Act. This bill is essential to make up for inadequate Social Security cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) that didn’t keep up with inflation. We estimate you’ve been shortchanged $581. Passing this bill will provide seniors with money that should have been in COLA payments.
Please take time now to sign our petition. The more Americans who step up to join us will be a big help in giving Congress the wake-up call it needs.
We’d love for you to connect with us on Facebook and Twitter!