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Historical February 1990 report or notice. Original dates, prices and contacts describe the source period; current availability has not been established.
Fifty years ago last month—in January 1940—the first Social Security check was issued. Ida Mae Fuller of Brattleboro, Vermont received it.
It was for $30.
Since then more than $2 trillion in Social Security payments have been made and the system is still working despite dramatic changes in the program and in the country.
In 1940 the minimum wage was thirty cents an hour.
The Social Security tax rate was 1% and the maximum Social Security tax you could pay for the year was $30. Ida Mae Fuller’s first check was for more than the total Social Security taxes she had paid in her life.
The tax rate for 1990 is 7.65% for employees and employers.
For self-employed people the rate is 15.3%.
The maximum Social Security tax paid by an employee this year alone will be more than the total maximum taxes for the first 33 years of the program.
And today it takes an average of two years to recover all the taxes paid by a worker.
The original Social Security Act of 1935 provided only retirement benefits and scheduled first payments for 1942.
In 1939 the law was amended. Benefits for wives and widows were added and the first check was moved up to 1940. Today Social Security is a package of benefits.
It provides retirement, survivors, and disability protection in addition to Medicare.
The original Social Security law only covered workers in commerce and industry. Later, agricultural, domestic, selfemployed and many government workers were added. Today over 95% of the work force is covered by Social Security.
In 1940 the total Social Security benefits paid were $48 million and the average retirement benefit was $23 per month.
This year’s total will be $255 billion and the average will be $566. Social Security beneficiaries under age 70 must be retired to get benefits.
In 1990 someone age 65 to 69 can earn up to $9360 and still be considered fully retired.
In 1940 that limit was $15 per month, Social Security is expected to be around for at least another fifty years or so.
According to its trustees, the system is in good financial health until 2046.
Originally published in The Times of Skinker-DeBaliviere, February 1990.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Archival transcription note: Source first-check amount$30and solvency projection2046preserved as printed period claims, not independently verified history or current forecasts.
Original source: SD_Times1990_02.pdf, printed page(s) 7; PDF page(s) 7.
