In the United States, a Social Security number (SSN) is a nine-digit number issued to U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and temporary (working) residents under section 205(c)(2) of the Social Security Act, codified as 42 U.S.C. § 405(c)(2). The number is issued to an individual by the Social Security Administration, an independent agency of the United States government. Although the original purpose for the number was for the Social Security Administration to track individuals,[1] the Social Security number has become a de facto national identification number for taxation and other purposes.[2] Show A Social Security number may be obtained by applying on Form SS-5, Application for a Social Security Number Card.[3] History[edit]Social Security numbers were first issued by the Social Security Administration in November 1936 as part of the New Deal Social Security program. Within three months, 25 million numbers were issued.[4] On November 24, 1936, 1,074 of the nation's 45,000 post offices were designated "typing centers" to type up Social Security cards that were then sent to Washington, D.C. On December 1, 1936, as part of the publicity campaign for the new program, Joseph L. Fay of the Social Security Administration selected a record from the top of the first stack of 1,000 records and announced that the first Social Security number in history was assigned to John David Sweeney, Jr., of New Rochelle, New York. However, since the Social Security numbers were not assigned in chronological order, Sweeney did not receive the lowest Social Security number, 001-01-0001. That distinction belongs to Grace D. Owen of Concord, New Hampshire.[5][6] A re-evaluation of Social Security department policy against reuse in July 1976 allowed the request of 19 year old Brigham Young student Randy Jenkins from Glendale, Arizona to be granted the lowest SS number after the original woman given it had died a few years earlier. He later applied for a standard number due to often being questioned about the low number. [7] Before 1986, people often did not obtain a Social Security number until the age of about 14,[8] since the numbers were used for income tracking purposes, and those under that age seldom had substantial income.[9] The Tax Reform Act of 1986 required parents to list Social Security numbers for each dependent over the age of 5 for whom the parent wanted to claim a tax deduction.[10] Before this act, parents claiming tax deductions were simply trusted not to lie about the number of children they supported. During the first year of the Tax Reform Act, this anti-fraud change resulted in seven million fewer minor dependents being claimed. The disappearance of these dependents is believed to have involved either children who never existed or tax deductions improperly claimed by non-custodial parents.[11] In 1988, the threshold was lowered to two years old, and in 1990, the threshold was lowered yet again to one year old.[12] Today, an SSN is required regardless of the child's age to receive an exemption.[citation needed] Since then, parents have often applied for Social Security numbers for their children soon after birth; today, it can be done on the application for a birth certificate.[13] Purpose and use[edit]The original purpose of this number was to track individuals' accounts within the Social Security program. It has since come to be used as an identifier for individuals within the United States, although rare errors occur where duplicates do exist. A few duplications did occur when prenumbered cards were sent out to regional SSA offices and (originally) post offices. Employee, patient, student, and credit records are sometimes indexed by Social Security number. The U.S. Armed Forces have used the Social Security number as an identification number for Army and Air Force personnel since July 1, 1969, the Navy and Marine Corps for their personnel since January 1, 1972, and the Coast Guard for their personnel since October 1, 1974.[14] Previously, the United States military used a much more complicated system of service numbers that varied by service. Beginning in June 2011, the DOD began removing the Social Security number from military identification cards, replacing them with a unique DOD identification number, formally known as the EDIPI.[15] Non-universal status[edit]An old Social Security card with the "not for identification" message Social Security was originally a universal tax, but when Medicare was passed in 1965, objecting religious groups in existence prior to 1951 were allowed to opt out of the system.[16] Because of this, not every American is part of the Social Security program, and not everyone has a number. However, a Social Security number is required for parents to claim their children as dependents for federal income tax purposes,[13] and the Internal Revenue Service requires all corporations to obtain SSNs (or alternative identifying numbers) from their employees, as described below. The Old Order Amish have fought to prevent universal Social Security by overturning rules such as a requirement to provide a Social Security number for a hunting license.[17] Social Security cards printed from January 1946 until January 1972 expressly stated that people should not use the number and card for identification.[18] Since nearly everyone in the United States now has an SSN, it became convenient to use it anyway and the message was removed.[19] Since then, Social Security numbers have become de facto national identification numbers.[2] Although some people do not have an SSN assigned to them, it is becoming increasingly difficult to engage in legitimate financial activities such as applying for a loan or a bank account without one.[20] While the government cannot require an individual to disclose their SSN without a legal basis, companies may refuse to provide service to an individual who does not provide an SSN.[21][22] The card on which an SSN is issued is still not suitable for primary identification as it has no photograph, no physical description, and no birth date. All it does is confirm that a particular number has been issued to a particular name. Instead, a driver's license or state ID card is used as an identification for adults. Use required for federal tax purposes[edit]Social Security card with legend "for Social Security and tax purposes" (1961) Internal Revenue Code section 6109(d) provides: "The social security account number issued to an individual for purposes of section 205(c)(2)(A) of the Social Security Act [codified as 42 U.S.C. § 405(c)(2)(A)] shall, except as shall otherwise be specified under regulations of the Secretary [of the Treasury or his delegate], be used as the identifying number for such individual for purposes of this title [the Internal Revenue Code, title 26 of the United States Code]."[23] The Internal Revenue Code also provides, when required by regulations prescribed by the secretary of the treasury or their delegate:
According to U.S. Treasury regulations, any person who, after October 31, 1962, works as an employee for wages subject to Social Security taxes, Medicare taxes, or U.S. federal income tax withholdings is required to apply for "an account number" using Form SS-5.[25] A taxpayer who is not eligible to have a Social Security number must obtain an alternative Taxpayer Identification Number. Four different classifications of Social Security cards are issued. Such cards are issued by geographic location (SSN Area Number) to:
There are two restricted types of Social Security cards:
The cards commonly display the cardholder's name and number. In 2004 Congress passed The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act; parts of which mandated that the Social Security Administration redesign the SSN card to prevent forgery. From April 2006 through August 2007, the SSA and Government Printing Office (GPO) employees were assigned to redesign the Social Security number card to the specifications of the Interagency Task Force created by the commissioner of Social Security in consultation with the secretary of Homeland Security. The new SSN card design utilizes both covert and overt security features created by the SSA and GPO design teams. Identity theft[edit]Many citizens and privacy advocates are concerned about the disclosure and processing of Social Security numbers. Furthermore, researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have demonstrated an algorithm that uses publicly available personal information to reconstruct a given SSN.[26] The SSN is frequently used by those involved in identity theft. This is because it is interconnected with many other forms of identification and people asking for it treat it as an authenticator. Financial institutions generally require an SSN to set up bank accounts, credit cards, and loans—partly because they assume that no one except the person it was issued to knows it. Exacerbating the problem of using the Social Security number as an identifier is the fact that the Social Security card contains no biometric identifiers of any sort, making it essentially impossible to tell whether a person using a certain SSN truly belongs to someone without relying on other documentation (which may itself have been falsely procured through use of the fraudulent SSN). Congress has proposed federal laws that restrict the use of SSNs for identification and bans their use for a number of commercial purposes—e.g., rental applications.[27] The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) offers alternatives to SSNs in some places where providing untrusted parties with identification numbers is essential. Tax return preparers must obtain and use a Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN) to include on their client's tax returns (as part of signature requirements).[28] Day care services have tax benefits, and even a sole proprietor should give parents an EIN (employer identification number) to use on their tax return. The Social Security Administration has suggested that, if asked to provide their Social Security number, a citizen should ask which law requires its use.[29] In accordance with §7213 of the 9/11 Commission Implementation Act of 2004 and 20 CFR 422.103, the number of replacement Social Security cards per person is generally limited to three per calendar year and ten in a lifetime.[29] Identity confusion has also occurred because of the use of local Social Security numbers by the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau, whose numbers overlap with those of residents of New Hampshire and Maine.[30] Similarly, Social Security numbers are often valued information for hackers to gain in attacks such as social engineering attacks, where attackers try and manipulate people into disclosing private information. For example, in the social engineering attack involving Hewlett-Packard, executives hired private investigators to manipulate phone companies into disclosing calling information and social security numbers of employees they suspected were leaking information to the press. Replacement numbers[edit]A person can request a new Social Security number, but only under certain conditions:[31]
For all of these conditions, credible third-party evidence such as a restraining order or police report is required. Structure[edit]The Social Security number is a nine-digit number in the format "AAA-GG-SSSS".[33] The number is divided into three parts: the first three digits, known as the area number because they were formerly assigned by geographical region; the middle two digits, known as the group number; and the final four digits, known as the serial number. On June 25, 2011, the SSA changed the SSN assignment process to "SSN randomization".[47] SSN randomization affects the SSN assignment process. Among its changes, it eliminates the geographical significance of the first three digits of the SSN, previously referred to as the Area Number, by no longer allocating the Area Numbers for assignment to individuals in specific states. |
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