Social Security Professionals history

Benefits were lower than for those who came before them because the new benefit formula was intended to produce lower benefits than the prior law formula. Thus the notch category - those born in the first few years after 1916 -- did in many cases receive benefits which can be characterized as lower than the benefits for those who came before them and lower than the benefits for those who came after them.

By 1917, in place of economics, topics such as “The Bearing of Psychology on Social Work” began to appear at NCSW conferences.

A prominent 1923 book by Philip Klein, a colleague of Miss Richmond at the Russell Sage Foundation, took the sametack with an added emphasis on public works.

10 See Roger Baldwin, “The Challenge to Social Work of the Changing Control in Industry,” NCSW Proceedings (1924), 373-79.

In “the steady increase of public governmental functions in the field of social work,” wrote Kenneth Pray, Director of the Pennsylvania School of Social and Health Work in 1926, there was “real democratic growth and promise.”14

Robert M. Ball, Commissioner of Social Security, was elected Chairman of the XVth ISSA General Assembly which convened in plenary sessions in the auditorium of the Department of State. Its objectives are "to coordinate internationally and to strengthen efforts toward the extension, the protection, and the technical and administrative improvement of social security throughout the world." The Association, founded originally in 1927, has members in more than 80 countries.

“The economic depression which started with the crash of the New York Stock Exchange in October, 1929 marked a complete change in the methods of American social welfare, particularly in poor relief,” declares a typical textbook statement in retrospect.26 “Complete change” is hyperbole.

The findings of this Council formed a major milestone in the history of Social Security by reaffirming in the post-Depression era the social insurance principles established in the 1930's.

In May, 1933 Congress and the new president, Franklin D. Roosevelt, created the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, which went on to disburse more than $3 billion in three years for national, state, and local programs of cash relief, work relief, and rehabilitation.

Although by 1934, 30 States had responded by providing pensions for the needy aged, total expenditures for State programs for the aged that year were $31 million--an average of $19.74 a month per aged person.

Even as the Social Security legislation moved through the Congress in the late winter and spring of 1935, it was acknowledged by many supporters that the old-age program then under consideration was but a first step in providing comprehensive protection for American workers against loss of earnings.

In addition to these changes in benefits, the 1939 amendments made basic changes in the financing of the Social Security program by establishing the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and by changing the size of the financial reserves held by the program.

Average monthly benefits grew only slightly, however--from $22.60 for a retired worker in 1940 to $26 at the end of the decade-- less than the rate of inflation.

28 Grace Abbott, From Relief to Social Security: The Development of the New Public Welfare Services and Their Administration (Chicago, 1941), 11-12.

The first benefits were to be paid in 1942.

By 1950, with a decade of experience under the Social Security program behind them, the Congress concluded that many of the obstacles to universal coverage were not as formidable as they had appeared at the beginning.

Other provisions of the 1954 amendments provided for expansion of State vocational rehabilitation programs to address the difficult problem of rehabilitating the severely disabled.

As had been the case with women since 1956, lowered the age at which male retirees could begin to collect benefits from 65 to 62, but with benefits actuarially reduced to take account of the longer period in which they would collect benefits.

Increased the earnings base from $6,600 to $7,800, beginning in 1968.

On September 25,1969, President Nixon sent his Social Security recommendations to Congress and they were introduced by Minority Leader Gerald Ford as H.R. 14080.(8)

On May 11, 1970, Chairman Mills and Congressman Byrnes introduced H.R. 17550, containing the Committee's decisions.

When the 92nd Congress convened on January 21, 1971, Chairman Mills and Representative Byrnes jointly introduced H.R. 1, the Social Security Amendments of 1971.

In 1972, the Congress approved legislation that established automatic cost-of-living adjustments (COLA's) in benefits based on price increases as measured by the Consumer Price Index and provided for automatically increasing the maximum amount of earnings covered under the system.

In 1973, the Social Security Board of Trustees began to project financial problems for the system in both the near and long term.

1974 Advisory Council Recommends Wage Indexed Formula

(25) United States Congress, Reports of the Quadrennial Advisory Council on Social Security, House Document 94-75, United States Government Printing Office, Washington, 1975, p. l 30.

The report was subsequently printed as a joint committee print in August, 1976.

President Carter announced his proposals to stabilize the Social Security benefit structure and reestablish the financial integrity of the system on May 9, 1977.

95-336, Washington, United States Government Printing Office, May 16, 1978.

The change in law was made effective for individuals reaching age 62 (the age of first eligibility for Social Security retirement benefits) in 1979 or later.

After passage of the 1980 legislation, SSA made further efforts to obtain prisoner information by having the Regional Offices contact State prison officials.

The borrowing could not exceed the amount needed to assure benefit payments beyond June 1983.

These efforts culminated in the enactment of the Social Security Disability Benefits Reform Act of 1984.

SSA’s international direct deposit program began in 1987.

The Nonagenarian Project was an SSA initiative that began in 1989 for the purpose of verifying that the Agency’s oldest beneficiaries were properly receiving their benefits, that any needed representative payees were in place, and to eliminate any possible fraud activities.

1991 SSA wrote to INS requesting INS explore with SSA new ways to enumerate non-citizens.

The Energy Policy Act of 1992 and EO 13123 set the goals, and the Agency strategies for meeting these goals were carried out through a combination of energy audits, energy conservation projects, and prospectus level projects throughout its facilities management.

As a rule in 1993, public confidence in government was low when President Clinton served his first term in office.

Public use of the services has dramatically grown since 1994.

On September 7, 1995, Vice President Gore released the publication, Common Sense Government: Works Better & Costs Less.

There were a number of initiatives that began in 1996.

Because of these concerns, Acting Commissioner John J. Callahan announced on April 9, 1997, that he would temporarily suspend the PEBES Internet service.

When it was finally launched in August 1998, the rocket malfunctioned and was destroyed, prompting yet another round of dish re-pointing and delays.

The President’s Memorandum on Reaffirmation of Partnership issued on October 28, 1999, required Federal agencies to report on progress being made in achieving the goals of the memorandum and the directives set forth in EO 12871.

The first of these events was the Canadian Identity Fraud Workshop held in Toronto in February 2000.

Raised the annual earnings test exempt amount, for recipients who have attained the full retirement age, over a period of 7 years, reaching $30,000 in 2002.