The Social Security records kept by the U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) are rich in data that will prove immensely valuable for Americans who want to research on information about their families. Those who are into genealogy will encounter very important data if they do research from Social Security records.

The Social Security act was signed into law in 1935, and millions of Americans applied for the program when it was first distributed in 1936. The number of people signing up increased dramatically when Medicare was included in the program's benefits.

The Social Security cards were distributed to American citizens, first by local post offices, then by the SSA's field offices. After 1971, the cards were issued to applicants from the central office in Baltimore, Maryland instead of the field offices.

The SSA maintained the Social Security Death Index, which is a database of records of all the members' deaths. The majority of the Americans are included in the list, except for individuals who died before getting eligibility for benefits. The same goes for those people who died prior to 1962 in that their names or their deaths may not have been included in the database. People who are not qualified for Social Security benefits are naturally excluded from the list.

If a person's death was reported, the chances are enormous that his or her name will be on the database. The database is updated every quarter, so it is very important to check the effectiveness of the database that a person is using for searching.

The SSDI provide the following Social Security records about the person being searched:

* Birthday
* Social Security number
* Date of death
* Address (usually the zip codes)
* The place where the member's death benefits was paid

These are usually the only information that can be gleaned from the database, but there are more ways to extract personal information about the deceased member. The SS5 form, the one used when first applying for a Social Security Number, can be requested from the office and from there, one can find another set of valuable information:

* Complete name of the member, including the maiden name is the person is a woman
* Residence during the time of application
* Occupation and possibly the employer
* Names of both parents

Sometimes, there are extra documents and records about the deceased kept by the office, and another person may request copies. These records contains the death certificate, medical and military records (if any) naturalization papers or statements from immediate family or relatives. A person requesting copies will have to shell out $14 to get them, if he does not have the Social Security Number. If he already has it, the service will only cost him $7.

So see, the Social Security Death Index is a valuable tool for genealogists or those regular folks who just want to check on their deceased family member's records. Those who want to gather family information and make a family tree (or simply just brush up on family history) will find the SSDI a treasure trove of information.