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Article: Social Security: Long-Term Financing and Reform
- Article from:
- Encyclopedia of Aging
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CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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SOCIAL SECURITY: LONG-TERM FINANCING AND REFORM
The Social Security Act and its transformation
The provisions of the Social Security Act (signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on 14 August 1935) were tailored to model a private insurance system and avoid any hi
nt of socialism. Some degree of individual equity would be maintained, with those who paid in more receiving greater benefits upon retirement. OASI (Old Age and Survivors Insurance) would not be means-tested, reflecting American preferences against welfare. These provisions helped to make the Social
Security Act the most successful and enduring of the New Deal programs
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indeed, many analysts claim that Social ...