Herald - Lantern - Dispatch 14 August '85 41

I*— — — — — — ——————— |p^Soci;irSecunf y l~^1 lNum|bc|r fa|ct [styeft | | • As of April 1, 1984, just over 290 million Social Security Numbers (SSNs) have been issued. • Currently there are 205 million active SSNs. B| ~ • During 1984 124 million people had earnings reported on the SSN records. ^B • About 9 million multiple SSNs have been issued. ^B • In 1983, 6,708,212 SSNs were issued. About 90 percent of these were issued to children age 18 and ^^B ^ •Last year 5,723,494 duplicate Social Security cards were issued. ^B • As ofFebruary 1985, about 1.4 million SSNs have been issued to lawfully admitted aliens not authoriz- ^B ed to work in the United States. - • In 1984, 164,744 special annotated Social Security cards were issued bearing the legend "Not Valid for Bi^B Employment." • The first SSN was issued in 1936. ^B • There are about 1 billion possible SSN combinations. ^ E Until 1972, the first tthree digits of the SSN indicated the location of the Social Security office that issued the number. Since 1972, SSNs have been issued from central office headquarters in Baltimore. The first three digits now indicate a person's State of residence as shown on the SSN application. The ^ remaining six digits have no special significance. Although the SSN was originally intended for the Social Security program only and public assurances were given of its strict program usage, Executive Order 9397 issued November 22, 1943, required ^ Federal components to exclusively use the number for any needed identification system for individuals. However, there was little non-program use for the SSN through the 1950's within the Federal _ B Government largely because of the absence of an incentive for agencies to change their recordkeeping system. There was no prohibition against the use of the number by non-government sources. ' . . . -i In 1961, the Internal Revenue Service began to use the SSN for taxpayer identification. Thereafter, the developing computer revolution SECiir. " - and the utility in computer recordkeeping of a standard number in- ^ nnivebc duced widespread adoption of the SSN by the military, the Treasury «s Any r Department, and agencies administering welfare and social service 13^98^^-- - / x programs financed in whole or in part by Federal funds : K^K B ~ Signed into law on December 31, 1974, the Privacy Act of 1974 ■^B made it unlawful for any Federal, State, or local government agencv I to deny individuals any right, benefit, or privilege provided by Taw ' .j - because of their refusal to disclose their SSN. However, this legisla- ^ — f* tion was not applicable to situations where disclosure of the SSN was *» fl) V required by Federal Statute, or where the system of using the SSN to _ J|l01 ' « J verify identitv was in existence and operating before January 1. 1975 7 ~ Any Federal, State or local government agency which requests in- ^ iJiwl r aL dividuals to disclose their SSN is required to inform them whether ' J— Hju jr ">< disclosure is mandatory, or voluntary, by what authority the number is solicited, and what uses are to be made of it. ^ :01D "GtVBHB On October 4, 1976, the "Tax Reform Act of 1976" was signed into QIT YJgSra^^B law. This new legislation permits any State (or political subdivision) 1 * L C!Li5M ' to use the SSN in the administration of any tax. general public I UB — assistance, driver's license, or motor vehicle registration law for the ^ PHI IDU^. purjwses of establishing Rlentity. Social Security records, however, j The 1972 Social Security Amendments included criminal penalties ^ '^v'l5 for furnishing false information regarding the SSN for obtaining or i.^W'i^JPSl^B B»1I increasing benefits from federally Tundedprograms. The Tax BH Reform Act of 1976 made misuse of the SSN for any purpose a viola-g-rsggBSfSfjajas I^BP^V — tion of the Social Security Act. These Amendments also provided that ^ —a-—,. » 1 "K - all applicants for an SSN must submit evidence to establish their age — * by submitting a birth certificate or a religious record of birth ! '5 anSsE' _ established before age 5, or other valid evidence. Applicants must """" . , " " » . . also establish their identity .preferably with more than one document which includes the signature. A parent applying for an SSN for a iTIOH ,i Til SiiTSTo child of any age must provide evidence of the child's date of birth, I — identity, and citizenship. In addition, the parent must also provide ^ Q| Applicants age 18 and over must apply in person, ordinarily at a 9W ■/ \\ 7*B^B\ B L«. * Social Security office. Since most people 18 and older already have CkBU II [ ™ TB 1, B an SSN. each applicant is interviewed to make sure that he or she ^ \\ I has never been given a number. In addition, foreign born applicants BdB jOBk of any age must submit evidence of their United States citizenship, or 7"^ — alien status to show that they are lawfully admitted to the United" ^ 7^ States. In recent years the Social Security Administration has taken a number of steps to tighten control of the SSN issuance process. 1 I ' I I 1 I I I I "I .

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