14 August
1935 · politics
The Social Security Act is signed into law
On August 14, 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law, creating the most enduring piece of New Deal legislation. For the first time, the federal government took responsibility for the economic security of elderly Americans.
The first monthly payments began in January 1940. The first recipient was Ida May Fuller of Ludlow, Vermont, who had paid a total of $24.75 into the system and received her first check for $22.54. She lived to be 100 and collected a total of $22,888.92. The programme has been called the third rail of American politics ever since — touch it and you die.
“Do you remember your parents or grandparents talking about Social Security? What did it mean to your family?”