President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act on this day in 1935.

Roosevelt’s attention to the Social Security Act, driven by a need in America for economic security during the Great Depression, resulted in policies which are still some of the most hotly debated in American politics. The Social Security Act was designed by Roosevelt's administration to provide old-age security. There were three parts to the original bill: old-age welfare pensions, compulsory contribution and government-sold annuity option certificates. Not all the elements of the original bill were maintained in the final legislation, but OASDI (Old-Age Survivors and Disability Insurance) maintains its status as the most visible “welfare” program to come out of the New Deal era. The first recipient of Social Security benefits received a one-time lump-sum payment of 17 cents in January 1937, but by 1999 over 44.5 million people were receiving benefits totaling more than $386 billion annually.

EconEdLink
Social Security Gains Two More Years (9–12) provides an opportunity for students to learn about the Social Security system through examination of press reports describing the program’s expected longevity.

How Long Is Your Life? (9–12) is a lesson designed to encourage students to think in a long-term perspective, beyond just college or early career plans. Using a timeline, students imagine and place the major events in their lives, including a whole section on planning for retirement.

EDSITEment
Roosevelt is well known both for the Federal programs he introduced to help U.S. citizens during the Great Depression and for his excellent oratorical skills. In the EDSITEment lesson Freedom by the Fireside: The Legacy of FDR’s “Four Freedoms” Speech (6–8), student take a close look at one of Roosevelt’s most memorable speeches.