A key advisor to FDR for his twelve years in office, she was instrumental in establishing the groundbreaking Social Security Act. Social Security was conceived of as a social insurance program by Perkins, FDR, and members of the Committee on Economic Security. There was recalcitrance from management and trade associations, like the National Association for Manufacturers that opposed the Social Security Act and many of the New Deal reforms.
Enacted into law on August 14, 1935, the program resulted from Perkins’s skillful work in assembling experts, reconciling interest groups, drafting and redrafting legislation, and shepherding through congress what she called “one of the most forward-looking pieces of legislation in the interest of wage earners” in history. Social Security provides benefits that are financed primarily through workers’ payroll deductions, which are matched by employers’ contributions for the surviving spouse and children of a deceased worker. It also provides long-term disability benefits and a lifetime retirement benefit. It is still considered the foundation of the American social safety net.
Social Security
A key advisor to FDR for his twelve years in office, she was instrumental in establishing the groundbreaking Social Security Act. Social Security was conceived of as a social insurance program by Perkins, FDR, and members of the Committee on Economic Security. There was recalcitrance from management and trade associations, like the National Association for Manufacturers that opposed the Social Security Act and many of the New Deal reforms.
Enacted into law on August 14, 1935, the program resulted from Perkins’s skillful work in assembling experts, reconciling interest groups, drafting and redrafting legislation, and shepherding through congress what she called “one of the most forward-looking pieces of legislation in the interest of wage earners” in history. Social Security provides benefits that are financed primarily through workers’ payroll deductions, which are matched by employers’ contributions for the surviving spouse and children of a deceased worker. It also provides long-term disability benefits and a lifetime retirement benefit. It is still considered the foundation of the American social safety net.
In 1962, Perkins reflected on the longevity of this important social service: “One thing I know–Social Security is so firmly embedded in the American psychology today that no politician, no political party, no political group could possibly destroy this Act and still maintain our democratic system. It is safe. It is safe forever, and for the everlasting benefit of the people of the United States.”
As of 2022, 70.6 million people received benefits from programs administered by the Social Security Administration (SSA), 55% of adult Social Security beneficiaries were women, and 55.6% was the average age of disabled-worker beneficiaries (SSA).