The vital lifeline for tens of millions of Americans everywhere -- including almost 1.2 million Alabamians -- used for housing, groceries, gas, and the other everyday necessities is about to mark its 90th birthday. And with that anniversary comes a responsibility to strengthen the program – and determine how we can help it age in the healthiest way. As the bedrock of retirement in America, our financial future depends on protecting Social Security for decades to come.
Social Security will face challenges in the years ahead, but it’s incumbent on us to ensure the program continues to work for the 67 million Americans across the country who rely on it. The history of the program shows us how necessary it is for the healthy retirement of Americans everywhere. On August 14, 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act, and in January 1935 Ida M. Fuller, the first person to receive Social Security, collected a monthly check of $22.54—that’s $518.58 in inflation-adjusted dollars. From that beginning, the program now provides $1.4 trillion in retirement security. It is the only inflation-adjusted retirement program, and it guarantees that Americans everywhere know they can plan soundly for retirement. That’s nationwide.
