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The U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) was created to
facilitate the provision of benefits for the citizens of the United
States. The SSA gets its funds from the mandatory contributions
of workers in the country.
Any U.S. citizen who is over 18 years old and is making income
should get a Social Security Number. The SSN is used for declaring
the income of individuals to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service.
Everyone is required to be covered by Social Security, and it
provides a lot of benefits compared to other private benefit plans.
Some of them are coverage for disability and survivor provisions,
and it arranges greater protective policies for families of beneficiaries.
Children do not really need to get a Social Security number, but
parents can opt to acquire one for their kids if they want to claim
the child as a deduction on their income taxes. It is very easy
to get Social Security numbers for children nowadays as hospitals
are making it possible for parents to sign their babies up for SSN
as soon as their name papers are complete. But, parents always have
the option to wait until later and apply for the number directly
to the agency.
There are benefits of getting children Social Security numbers
at an early stage. It can be used to open bank accounts in their
names, to get them covered for medical expenses, or simply enable
them access to government services.
Social Security numbers can be owned by just one person only. When
individuals die, their Social Security numbers will not be recycled,
and will be deleted from the records forever. The nine-digit SSN
has approximately one billion combinations, and according to the
SSA, it is enough to supply a number to each individual in the U.S.
When a person changes his name, or if his card is stolen or lost,
he will still retain the same Social Security number that he has.
But, he has to fill out a SS-5 form in order to get a replacement
for the lost card. Ids need to be presented in order to confirm
the person's identity. In the case of a newly married person, women
will also not change their Social Security numbers, but they do
have to process it to be applied to their new name.
How does one apply for a new Social Security Card? The following
must be submitted:
* Proof of identity (birth certificate, school transcripts)
* Age
* Citizenship (or legal alien status)
* Proof of citizenship for those born outside the U.S.
New Social Security numbers can be assigned to a person in place
of an old one in very special cases, such as identity fraud.
Social Security numbers have nine digits, and they are divided
into three parts: the area numbers, the group numbers, and the serial
numbers. The area numbers are the first three numbers in the SSN,
which represent the ZIP code of the address given by the individual
in his application form.
The two middle digits are called the group numbers, and its use
is to put a distinction between the SSNs with the same area number.
The last four numbers are the serial numbers
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