What is the Social Security for? The Social Security Act was promulgated by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt on August 14, 1935. Among other provisions, the new Act created a social insurance program designed to pay retirees 65 years of age or older a permanent income after retirement.
Later, during the term of President Eisenhower, the disability insurance was established so to expand the existing coverage to disabled persons of any age and their dependents. Then, during the presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson, on July 30, 1965, it came into effect the amendment to the Social Security Act that created the Medicare and Medicaid programs.
Medicare began covering the costs of medical consultation and hospitalization to almost all 65-years-old and older Americans; Medicaid, meanwhile, began to guarantee medical assistance to citizens of low-income families, pregnant women, invalids of all ages and those who need long-term medical care.
Today, when more than fifty years have passed since its inception, Medicare and Medicaid have helped to alleviate the anguish of millions of American families who did not have insurance. Now, people with disabilities, families with children, pregnant women and low-income American workers can cover the insurance costs necessary for the preservation of health. In fact, almost a third of American citizens are covered by Medicare and Medicaid – which means there are more than 100 million beneficiaries of the programs.
So far, about 55 million people depend on Medicare to cover 23 types of preventive services, including flu shots and diabetes tests, and hospitalizations, lab tests, equipment, and medications.
Medicaid, meanwhile, offers broad coverage to more than 70 million eligible children, pregnant women, low-income adults and people with disabilities. It also covers essential services such as annual check-ups, care for women during and after pregnancy, and dental assistance for children from low-income families.
With the issuance of a numbered card for each of the beneficiaries of the program, a quasi-universal identification system was generated, which has been used by various public and private institutions such as the Internal Revenue Service, banks, insurance companies and the universities.
Although the Social Security Act in itself does not require any person to have a Social Security Number (SSN) to live and work in the United States, the Internal Revenue Code generally requires taxpayers to submit the Social Security number, the “Social “, as a means of identification for the steps they take before the federal agency. Because it is a public instrument issued under strict safety standards, the “Social” has become the national identification number par excellence to process before countless official and private institutions.
The Social Security Administration issues three different types of identification cards:
1. Cards that only show the user’s name and their “Social” number, without restrictions to work. It is granted to American citizens and to persons legally admitted to remain indefinitely in the country.
2. Cards that, in addition to the user’s name and identification number, display the note: “VALID TO WORK ONLY WITH THE AUTHORIZATION OF THE NATIONAL SECURITY DEPARTMENT (DHS)”. It is issued for persons temporarily admitted to the country but who enjoy official authorization to work.
3. Cards that in addition to the name and identification number of the beneficiary display the note: “NOT VALID FOR EMPLOYMENT”. It is issued for foreigners admitted in the country and not authorized by DHS to work.
As we can see, the “Social” number is necessary to declare the contributions of individual work and to estimate the taxes to be paid to the Treasury. In the long run, these contributions will be the basis for the calculation to stipulate the retirement benefits of each taxpayer.
Because of its wide use, it is not an exaggeration to say that the Social number is the element that makes a person “exist” as an active subject within American society. If you do not yet have your Social and want to get it for free, visit the website www.socialsecurity.gov or call toll-free 1-800-772-1213.
For now, let us say goodbye to this article with this ingenious phrase of John Fitzgerald Kennedy in his inaugural address of January 20, 1961: “If a free Society cannot help its many poor people, it will not be able to save its few rich people either.”
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Author: Alfredo Gonzalez I www.negociosenflorida.com
