Throughout American History, the government has put forth effort in providing for people in need. This idea of providing security and safety to people in poverty later created the American welfare state, wherein the national government created programs designed to promote economic security for all Americans- programs not specifically for poor people. These programs were made to help people with an illness, disability, temporary unemployment, and mainly the elderly who are struggling financially. The largest programs made for the elderly include Social Security and Medicare; however, there are many others that are much less popular but still existing. In this essay, we will discuss how Social Security and Medicare began, changed throughout the
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President Roosevelt proposed to Congress the creation of an economic security legislation, which would represent the recommendations of a Committee on Economics. A few months later came the passage of the Social Security Act, signed by Roosevelt on August 14th, 1935. Social Security is defined as “a contributory welfare program into which working Americans contribute a percentage of their wages and from which they receive cash benefits after retirement or if they become disabled” (“We the People” 695). This act set up a retirement program for elderly people over the age of 65, which would be financed for by employers and their workers. The act also provided “federal grants-in-aid to the States for the means-tested programs of Old-Age Assistance and Aid to the Blind” (crf-usa.org). The original Act of 1935 included the first national unemployment compensation program, …show more content…
Online features such as electronic payments, online statements, new retirement age, the addition of spousal and child payments, the addition of disability payments, and many other online options have all been added to the Social Security program to make it easier and more convenient to access. Carolyn Colvin, acting commissioner of the Social Security, stated “When we first started 80 years ago, we were mostly providing face-to-face service… we are gradually offering additional products online” (money.usnews.com). The Social Security Administration no longer sends checks via mail, but instead sends payments electronically to a bank account or onto a prepaid debit card. Another new online feature allows the retiree to view their statements, such as earnings history, paid taxes, and an estimate of their Social Security benefit. Another way Social Security has changed is by the recent change of the original retirement age of 65. An amendment put into the law in 1961 lowered the age to 62 for when men could start to collect benefits; however, the retirees still had to wait until they were 65 to receive the entire payment they qualified for, while also receiving a significantly lower benefit for how early they started the claim. In March 1983, Congress decided to add a few more provisions to the Social Security Amendments, such as “increasing the age of eligibility for full
President Roosevelt proposed to Congress the creation of an economic security legislation, which would represent the recommendations of a Committee on Economics. A few months later came the passage of the Social Security Act, signed by Roosevelt on August 14th, 1935. Social Security is defined as “a contributory welfare program into which working Americans contribute a percentage of their wages and from which they receive cash benefits after retirement or if they become disabled” (“We the People” 695). This act set up a retirement program for elderly people over the age of 65, which would be financed for by employers and their workers. The act also provided “federal grants-in-aid to the States for the means-tested programs of Old-Age Assistance and Aid to the Blind” (crf-usa.org). The original Act of 1935 included the first national unemployment compensation program, …show more content…
Online features such as electronic payments, online statements, new retirement age, the addition of spousal and child payments, the addition of disability payments, and many other online options have all been added to the Social Security program to make it easier and more convenient to access. Carolyn Colvin, acting commissioner of the Social Security, stated “When we first started 80 years ago, we were mostly providing face-to-face service… we are gradually offering additional products online” (money.usnews.com). The Social Security Administration no longer sends checks via mail, but instead sends payments electronically to a bank account or onto a prepaid debit card. Another new online feature allows the retiree to view their statements, such as earnings history, paid taxes, and an estimate of their Social Security benefit. Another way Social Security has changed is by the recent change of the original retirement age of 65. An amendment put into the law in 1961 lowered the age to 62 for when men could start to collect benefits; however, the retirees still had to wait until they were 65 to receive the entire payment they qualified for, while also receiving a significantly lower benefit for how early they started the claim. In March 1983, Congress decided to add a few more provisions to the Social Security Amendments, such as “increasing the age of eligibility for full