The United States Social Security System (SSS), the Federal Income Contributions Act (FICA) was started August 14, 1935, by President Franklin Deleanore Roosevelt. It is based in Baltimore, Maryland, employs sixty-five-thousand people and has an annual budget of 736.2 billion dollars.
When started, participation in the SSS was voluntary, not so today. Participants paid 1% of the first $1,400.00 of their annual incomes today it is 7.65% on the first $90,000.00 of income. Originally, funds put into the system were tax deductible, annually, but no longer so today.
All monies collected by Social Security were to be placed in an independent Trust Fund and would only be used to fund the Social Security Retirement Program. These funds were never to be placed in the Government’s general operating fund, and would never be available to any other Government program. However, President Lyndon Johnson’s administration, all monies on deposit with the Social Security System was moved to the Government’s General Fund and Spent.
Until 1982 a Social Security Card was expressly prohibited from being used as a form of identification.
Originally, annuity payments made to retirees were not supposed be taxed as income. However, under President Clinton’s administration, with the help of Al Gore, up to 85% of Social Security income was made taxable.
Originally, Social Security benefits were only to be paid to those who contributed to the annuity fund. However, under President Jimmy Carter’s administration to immigrants, who had never contributed to the system.