Social Security is a vital social insurance program that spreads the risk of lost wages due to retirement, disability, or death.  Prior to the creation of the Social Security program, most elderly Americans or those who became disabled had to count on private charity or inadequate state welfare programs to provide basic needs.  During the Great Depression, President Franklin D. Roosevelt pushed Congress to enact the “Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance” program to provide a basic system of social insurance to prevent the majority of Americans from becoming completely destitute.

Social insurance, as conceived by President Roosevelt, addresses the permanent problem of economic security for the elderly by creating a work-related, contributory system in which workers provide for their own future economic security through taxes paid while employed.  It is a proven successful alternative to welfare, which prior to Social Security was the primary means of keeping the elderly, people with disabilities, orphans and widows from utter poverty.

For more information please visit the Social Security Administration’s History Page.