On August 14, 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law. The act created a federal system of old-age benefits funded by payroll taxes. It also included unemployment insurance and aid programs for certain vulnerable groups. Social Security became a central part of the American social safety net. In the decades that followed, Congress expanded and adjusted the program. The law’s passage significantly changed the relationship between citizens and the federal government in matters of retirement security.
