Ida May Fuller is seen here receiving her first increased benefit check from the SSA. Visit the Social Security Administration online to learn more: http://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/ssact/ssact-toc.htm
The Social Security Act of 1935 begins payment of benefits to the elderly, disabled and unemployed. Social Security benefits are supported through payroll taxes. The Social Security Administration began life as the Social Security Board. The SSB was an entirely new entity, with no staff, no facilities and no budget. The initial personnel were donated from existing agencies. Frances Perkins offered one of her Assistant Secretaries, Arthur Altmeyer, to be an initial Board member. Perkins even gave her high-backed red-leather executive chair to Altmeyer since the SSB had no furniture.
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