As a result, the area numbers assigned to big cities, such as New York, Philadelphia, Boston, and Chicago, were used for workers in many other parts of the country (McKinley and Frase 1970, 373). The original 1936 version of the SS-5 requested the following information: Although issuing SSNs is still a large workload for SSA, one rarely thinks about the major undertaking it was to register workers for the first SSNs. SSA plans additional discussion with other government entities and the private sector before implementing any change. A few examples are described below. There are a number of ways to initiate the application process. There is one Numident record for each SSN ever assigned. 2008. A series of press releases outlined the procedure for assigning SSNs and carried sample Forms SS-4 and SS-5, as well as a Social Security card specimen. Staruch, George. For assistance with your account, you may call us at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778) or you can contact your local Social Security office. The conditions are highly restrictive. This pilot was expanded worldwide in early 2003. To verify a birth certificate, Social Security will contact the office that issued it. Also include the veteran's service number on a request if service was during the The author is with the Office of Research, Evaluation, and Statistics, Office of Retirement and Disability Policy, Social Security Administration. This policy varies by State. See Social Security Numbers For Children for more information. Beginning with cards issued on or after December 17, 2005, individuals may only receive three Social Security cards per year and 10 in a lifetime, with certain exceptions, such as correcting errors or name changes. (March): 29–30. In June 1937, the Social Security Board would issue its very first regulation, formalizing its pledge of confidentiality for information collected and maintained. In the process of modernizing SSA's master files, this file was converted to an IBM DB2 relational database linked to the Numident file. Social Security must verify the birth record for all U.S.- born applicants who apply for an original Social Security Number. The strips were inserted into the frame one by one, with some employees filing as many as 300 strips an hour. The publicity campaign and the Post Office Department's efforts resulted in over 22 million completed applications as of December 22, 1936, 28 days after the initial distribution of employee applications (Wyatt and Wandel 1937, 62). Previously, prior to 1972, social security numbers were assigned by SSA field offices. For instance, the social security numbers provided: 318-14-9755 was issued in Illinois, and 546-20-9322 was issued in California. The Census Bureau also declined, citing legal restrictions on the disclosure of its information to other agencies and confidentiality promises to the public that census information would be used for statistical purposes only (McKinley and Frase 1970, 338–339). 1961. Adding issuance date to the front of the card. The actuarial punch cards, in phonetic code surname order. The following is a list of the social security number prefixes and the state or states that issued it. As reported in Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, SSA. Available at www.socialsecurity.gov/oig/ADOBEPDF 17 See www.socialsecurity.gov/employer And even if it did happen, he muses, “What would that do?” If hackers could get access to SSNs, why couldn’t they gain access to another form of ID? Serial number 0000 is not assigned. Baltimore, MD: SSA, Office of the Inspector General. Generally, there are no restrictions in federal law precluding the use of the SSN by the private sector, so businesses may ask individuals for an SSN whenever they wish (Streckewald 2006). This token would help employers accurately report an individual's earnings under the program. This article explores the history and meaning of the SSN and the Social Security card, along with SSA's SSN master data file, generally known as the Numident. The task force was formed in January 2006 and included several other agencies, such as the FBI, the DoS, and the Government Printing Office. Still, in early June 1936, the Board decided to use a small paper card (McKinley and Frase 1970, 327 and 329). Unpublished internal document. These include: Other features added to the card are not apparent to the naked eye and for security reasons are not disclosed to the public. © 2021 A&E Television Networks, LLC. In July 1937 alone, Bureau field offices issued some 1.9 million additional SSNs (McKinley and Frase 1970, 368–373). READ MORE: Where Social Security Came From. State Departments of Motor Vehicles use the Social Security OnLine Verification (SSOLV) system to verify names and SSNs for the issuance of new and renewal driver's licenses and identity cards. Establishing the Social Security infrastructure was impeded for 3½ months by the lack of funds due to a filibuster of the 1936 Deficiency Bill (a government-wide appropriation bill similar to current Omnibus Budget Reconciliation bills) by Senator Huey Long (D–LA). /ssnvs_handbk.htm for additional information about SSNVS. Publication No. Social Security Bulletin 56(1): 83–86. Sequence 700 through 728 was assigned to railroad workers until July 1963. National Insurance numbers issued in the Isle of Man hold the prefix MA. Eighth version of SSN card (06/1948 revision Madison, WI: The University of Wisconsin Press. Unpublished Census Bureau document. In 1973, SSA began converting its legacy SS-5 records to the Numident electronic database, completing the conversion in 1979. However, the Board made this decision without consulting other federal agencies. This scheme would permit the prenumbering of registration forms and was capable of expansion to nearly 1 billion accounts (McKinley and Frase 1970, 342–344). Additionally, the U.S. Supreme Court declared the Agricultural Adjustment Act invalid in January 1936, raising the possibility that the Social Security Act might also be declared unconstitutional (McKinley and Frase 1970, 22–23; SSA 1952). These extra forms requested information such as nationality, religion, education, and union affiliation. Only two companies manufactured tabulating machines using a combination of alphabetic and numeric characters, and the government had previously brought suit against them under the Sherman Antitrust Act for dividing market territory between them (McKinley and Frase 1970, 320–322). Exhibit 1 shows the effective dates of changes in policy on evidentiary requirements. The Social Security application lists full birth dates and parents' names. Committee on Ways and Means Serial No. 10 For a more detailed explanation of the early SSN records maintenance process, see the June 1938 Social Security Bulletin at www.socialsecurity.gov/history/fay638.html and Your Social Security Record—1955 at www.socialsecurity.gov/history/ssa/yourss55.html. This last possibility caused another round of negotiations between the Social Security Board and the Post Office Department about whether "return penalty privilege" (requiring no postage) applied. People born in the United States since 1987 may have had their SSN applied for them by the hospital at birth. Ledger sheets for maintaining earnings records, in numerical order. The area number is the first three digits of the number. This article explores the history and meaning of the SSN and the Social Security card, as well as the Social Security Administration's (SSA's) SSN master file, generally known as the Numident. All versions remain valid since it would be cost-prohibitive to replace all cards previously issued. Generally, those with multiple SSNs are the "very old" on the Numident; a study conducted in 2002 showed a weighted average age of 82.9 (SSA 2002). As a result of the June 1936 decision, the current SSN is composed of three parts: The 3-digit area number is assigned by geographic region. (Barron and Bamberger 1982, 29). The deficiency of such a scheme was already well known. 1947. A Social Security number is the U.S. federal government's way of identifying your child. Ask your birth center staff how you can get a copy of your baby's birth certificate. Social Security Numbers are never reassigned after someone dies. The first three … And still the job was not finished. Some parents complete the application for a social security number while still in the hospital after the birth of the baby but most get social security numbers for their children before the year is out because in order to claim them as a dependent on their federal income tax return, the children must have a social security number. 2003. The Baltimore Records Office used a nine-step process to create a permanent master record and to establish an earnings record for each individual.10 One hundred applications and office record cards, numbered consecutively, were sent through each operation together with a control unit of nine cards (one for each step). If the relative in question was born, raised, worked and died in Illinois, he or she most likely would not have a Social Security Number that was issued in California. Vital records—birth certificates, marriage certificates, death certificates and divorce decrees—are some of the best resources to help build a family tree. How did the SSN come to be, and why has it become an unofficial national identifier? DeWitt, Larry W., Daniel Béland, and Edward D. Berkowitz. Available at www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/consumers Before 1973, social security numbers were issued by local field offices. So, until 1972, the area number represented the state in which the card was issued. Other features not obvious to the naked eye were also added. In addition to the physical changes made to the Social Security card, SSA has taken many other steps to strengthen the integrity of the enumeration process by requiring evidence of age, citizenship, and identity, and by verifying this information, as noted in the section on evidentiary requirements. Their effort resulted in a list of 2.4 million employers (McKinley and Frase 1970, 344–345 and 368). Although the original purpose for the number was for the Social Security Administration to track individuals, the Social Security numbe… No microfilm SS-5 exists for a record created through the EAB process. The group number (the fourth and fifth digits of the SSN) was initially determined by the procedure of issuing numbers in groups of 10,000 to post offices for assignment on behalf of the Social Security Board's Bureau of Old-Age Benefits. Likely, the system that necessitates we all memorize our own nine-digit number will continue for a long time. Although SSA has made the card counterfeit-resistant, the card does not contain information that would allow it to be used as proof of identity. We must verify your child’s birth record, which can add up to 12 weeks to the time it takes to issue a card. SSNs were first issued in November 1936 as part of the Social Security Act that was signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt the previous year. The Social Security Board issued releases at various times assuring the public that the information on the application would be kept confidential, with access limited to government employees for whom job duties under the Social Security Act required it (Wyatt and Wandel 1937, 57). Within each area number allocated to a state, the sequence of group number assignments begins with the odd-numbered group numbers from 01 to 09, followed by even group numbers 10 through 98, then even numbers 02 through 08, and finally odd numbers 11 through 99.4. In the end, the Board got it both ways—the Post Office Department agreed to accept returned SS-5s without postage on October 8, 1936, and the Treasury Department issued the regulations making the SSN mandatory on November 6, 1936 (McKinley and Frase 1970, 351–352 and 360). ———. The card was never intended to serve as a personal identification document—that is, it does not establish that the person presenting the card is actually the person whose name and SSN appear on the card. It was thought that the central operation in the Candler building was temporary, and that the work would soon be dispersed to the 12 regions, so recruitment from distant states was logical (SSA 1952). Congress has also considered legislation that would require the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to use an alternative to the SSN as the Medicare claim number. In 1938, a wallet manufacturer in Lockport, New York, the E.H. Ferree Company, decided to promote its product by showing how a Social Security card would fit into the wallet. The signed SS-5 application is retained for a short period in the field office, and then is sent to a records center in Pennsylvania for microfilming. 1938. When economist Edwin Witte helped develop the Social Security Act of 1935, the numbers were solely a way to keep track of the new retirement payment system. Thus, the employer identification number (EIN) and the SSN were created. People may change their names and addresses throughout their lives, but their SSNs generally will remain the same. In addition, SSA may assign a new SSN to an individual who is a victim of SSN misuse, which means that the number has been used with criminal or harmful intent and the individual has been subjected to economic or personal hardship. /march1978.pdf. Real-time service is provided for 10 requests or less, and overnight processing is provided for up to 250,000 SSNs.17. The Social Security Administration developed an enumeration-at-birth process in 1987, which quickly became the way the majority of people apply … "6 It is estimated that some 4 million people saw the film and nearly 8 million of the pamphlets were distributed by Election Day (McKinley and Frase 1970, 357–358). In the case of a date of birth being Jan. 1, your Birth Month is December, and your Birth Year is the year prior to your actual birth. If a potential match is indicated between an existing record and an application for an original SSN, the field office is alerted to resolve the matter. Quantitative testing of informed consent questions in an RDD survey: Summary report, phase 2: 2004 questionnaire design and evaluation research survey. 1938. In addition, SSA receives requests for SSN verification from third parties who have obtained the consent of the individuals involved. Nevertheless, Congressional legislation and federal agency regulations require the collection of SSNs for myriad purposes, as detailed in Exhibit 2. Why to Start Saving Now; ... the first three digits pointed to the area of the office that issued the number. The number is issued to an individual by the Social Security Administration, an independent agency of the United States government. 107-81, Committee on the Judiciary Serial No. Also, a great many unemployed and WPA employees applied for SSNs both during the initial registration and again through WPA or private employment registration. 3 Assignment of area numbers by state is available at www.socialsecurity.gov/employer/stateweb.htm. In 2007, the President's Identity Theft Task Force (2007, 3) included among its SSN recommendations that "federal agencies should reduce the unnecessary use of SSNs, the most valuable commodity for an identity thief.". Filing little wooden sticks. 1937. Available at www.socialsecurity.gov/oig/ADOBEPDF Social Security Number (SSN). “It would be an enormous task to replace it with something else,” Witte says, of a White House proposal to do stop using SSNs as a form of national ID in the wake of the massive Equifax data breach that exposed 145 million people’s personal information between May and July 2017. After we issued this report, the Social Security Subcommittee proposed the Social Security Must Avert Identity Loss (MAIL) Act in May 2016. In addition, the SS-5s were filmed on 16 millimeter, noninflammable film strips. As a result, a new scheme adopted by the Board on February 14 consisted of a 3-digit area code, a 2-digit month of birth, and a 4-digit serial number. OASIS. Washington, DC: Graphic Arts Press. However, actual operations would reveal that decentralization was not really feasible. Since that time over 450 million Social Security Numbers have been issued with an … For over 20 years, Bureau field offices assigned SSNs, using blocks of prenumbered Social Security cards furnished to each office. 98-21). For the past several years a social security number has been mandated by the federal government to be issued at birth. Also in 1988, legislation increased the monetary penalties for SSN violations. With alphabetic symbols, these agencies, as well as many private companies, would have had to buy new machines. The SSN is here to stay for the foreseeable future. 109th Cong., 2d sess. Lockhart, James B. Sequence 577 through 579 was assigned to the District of Columbia. 15 However, SS-5s for applicants aged 18 or older for original SSNs are retained for 5 years before being destroyed. In 1933, bankruptcy was declared by President Roosevelt. The Low-Number Holder. We do this verification to prevent people from using fraudulent birth records to obtain Social Security numbers to establish false identities. The first three (3) digits of a person’s social security number are determined by the ZIP Code of the mailing address shown on the application for a social security number. Social Security Bulletin. The resulting register was not made available to the Board until December 1936 (McKinley and Frase 1970, 129). Owen received the number after it had been offered (as an honor) and declined by both John G. Winant, Social Security board chairman, and John Campbell, Federal Bureau … Evidence reveals that there is even a Federal Children Department established by the Shepherd/Townsend Act of 1922 under the Department of Commerce that appears to be involved in this process in some way. Workers sometimes lost their original number and applied for a new one. In September 1936, when the Post Office Department signed the agreement to handle the initial registration, the Board had planned for the Bureau of Old-Age Benefits to have 554 field offices set up to take over the enumeration workload in January 1937. Space to handle the SS-5 application forms was found on three floors of the Candler Building, a large warehouse converted from a Coca-Cola bottling factory on the harbor in downtown Baltimore (SSA 1961). As of December 2007, SSA had identified and cross-referenced in the MULTX file over 4.7 million individuals with multiple SSNs, about 93 percent of whom have only two SSNs. Wyatt, Birchard E., and William H. Wandel. For foreign-born individuals requesting a change to the Numident date of birth. Available at www.socialsecurity.gov/history/ssn/misused.html. However, the simplicity and efficiency of using a unique number that most people already possess has encouraged widespread use of the SSN by both government agencies and private enterprises, especially as they have adapted their recordkeeping and business systems to automated data processing.
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