History of Social Security in America

The concept of Social Security did not begin in the United States. The history of Social Security in America began after other European countries had already adopted social insurance plans for the elderly several years before President Roosevelt signed Social Security Act of 1935 into law on Aug. 14, 1935.

According to Larry DeWitt in the Social Security Bulletin article "The Development of Social Security in America," there were more than 20 other nations around the world with operating social insurance when the United States adapted its first national social insurance plan in 1935.

"The first Social Security retirement system," according to DeWitt, "was put in place in Germany in 1889." Great Britain had also instituted health insurance and disability benefits in 1925, and "these European systems, especially the German system, were to a considerable degree models for the American systems." However, even though many European social systems received contributions from workers and their employers as well as the government, this precedent was not adopted by the United States (DeWitt).