The U.S. Social Security Administration is a United States government agency, which manages the social insurance program of the country. It's headquarters is in Woodlawn, Maryland, and its current commissioner is Michael J. Astrue, as of February 2007.

Social Insurance consists of benefits for retirees, disabled citizens and survivors.

Americans who qualify for those benefits are those who pay Social Security taxes from their employment taxes. The amount of benefits to be received by a taxpayer will be based on his the amount and the number of his contributions.

The SSA was first known as the Social Security Board (SSB) and it was created by U.S President Franklin Roosevelt as part of his Social Security Act of 1935. It's first office opened on October 14, 1936 in Austin, Texas. The first collection of Social Security taxes was collected a year after the opening, and the first person ever to receive a benefit is Ernest Ackerman, while the first to be granted retirement benefits was Ida Mae Fuller.

The SSB was rechristened as the Social Security Administration by President Harry Truman in 1946. Prior to that, the administration became a Federal Security Agency, and it was giving out monthly benefits regularly.

Programs

The Social Security number is probably the most important thing that an American can apply for. They have to give proof of their citizenship or immigration status and proof of age and identity. There are certain documents that are accepted by the office when it comes applying for a Social Security Number.

The Social Security number is important because not only it entitles a person to benefits, it is also considered as a national ID number in the U.S. It is a valid identifier and is used by banks, government agencies, private and health insurance firms and employers.

The Social Security office holds several main programs. The insurance programs for old age, survivors and disability provides assistance to retirees or workers who are disabled, including their families. Millions of American receive Social Security benefits annually. Funding comes from the contributions acquired from workers, businesses and self-insured individuals.

The administration also manages the Supplementary Security Income, which is geared towards the blind and the elderly. Disabled persons are also part of this program. There are an estimated 7 million Americans that are covered by this provision.

There is also spouse's benefits. Current and former spouses are eligible, provided that former spouses was married to the member for a minimum of ten years. In this provision, same sex marriages are not covered, because there are federal laws that do not consider the union as legal.

The Social Security office exempts certain groups of workers from contributing to Social Security Taxes. Some of them are:

* Ministers
* Self-employed citizens earning below $400 a year
* Household workers with an annual income of less than $1500
* Minors
* Election workers with earnings that are less than a $1000 annually
* Government employers that are already under an alternatives retirement system
* College students under Federal Work Study programs
* Graduate students who are working as teaching or research assistants, or those who are on fellowship programs