Social Security Act Timeline

Helvering v. Davis, 301 U.S. 548 (1937), decided by a 5–4 vote, held that given the exigencies of the Great Depression, using federal money to relieve the unemployed was a use for promoting the general welfare. Justices Butler, McReynolds, and Sutherland argued the act exceeded federal powers.

Decided the same day as Helvering v. Davis, Steward Machine Co. v. Davis upheld the program's payroll tax as constitutional, ruling that its proceeds were paid into the Treasury like internal-revenue taxes generally and were not earmarked in any way—a mere exercise of Congress's general taxation powers.

Image source: Steward Machine Co. v. Davis

Flemming v. Nestor, 363 U.S. 603 (1960), upheld Section 1104 of the act, allowing Congress itself to amend and revise the schedule of benefits, affirming that Social Security benefits are not contractual property rights.

Weinberger v. Wiesenfeld (1975) held that a male widower should be entitled to his deceased wife's benefit just as a female widow was entitled to a deceased husband's, under the equal protection and due process clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment.

In the amendments of 1939, the tax was removed from the Social Security Act, placed in the Internal Revenue Code, and renamed the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA).

Image source: Federal Insurance Contributions Act

The amendments accelerated the start of monthly benefit payments, which had originally been scheduled for 1940 but were moved up to begin earlier, transforming the very nature of the Social Security program.

Many workers who had initially been excluded were covered only later, when Social Security was expanded in 1950, broadening the reach of the program significantly.

Image source: History of Social Security in the United States

The Social Security Act Amendments of 1954 significantly expanded the system by extending coverage to approximately 10 million additional people, including self-employed farmers, most self-employed professionals, and state or local government employees on a voluntary basis via referendum.

Image source: Social Security Act

The law was amended by the Social Security Amendments of 1965, which established two major healthcare programs: Medicare and Medicaid, extending health coverage to elderly and low-income Americans.

When Medicare was established in 1966, the FICA tax was increased to fund that program as well, linking the healthcare program's financing to the existing payroll tax structure.

Major changes included a 13% general increase in monthly benefits, a rise in the maximum annual earnings base from $3,600 to $4,200, and a scheduled tax rate increase to 4.0% by 1975.

In 1940, Social Security benefits paid totaled $35 million, marking the early years of the program's benefit distributions to retired workers.

By 1950, annual Social Security benefits paid had risen dramatically to $961 million, reflecting both inflation and the growing number of beneficiaries covered by the program.

By 1960, annual Social Security benefits paid totaled $11.2 billion in nominal dollars, reflecting the program's rapid growth over two decades.

By 1980, annual Social Security benefits paid had reached $120.5 billion in nominal dollars, demonstrating the program's massive growth since its inception.

In 2004, $492 billion of benefits were paid to 47.5 million beneficiaries, showing the scale at which the program operated in the early 21st century.

In 2009, nearly 51 million Americans received $650 billion in Social Security benefits, underscoring the program's central role in supporting retirees, disabled persons, and survivors during the Great Recession.