Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Showing results for Social Security Act. Search instead for social security office.

Social Security Act

American  

noun

U.S. Government.
  1. a law passed in 1935 providing old-age retirement insurance, a federal-state program of unemployment compensation, and federal grants for state welfare programs.


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

When he signed the Social Security Act in 1935, then-President Franklin Delano Roosevelt said the program was to provide “at least some measure of protection to the average citizen and his family…against poverty-ridden old age.”

From Barron's • May 8, 2026

This requirement to invest surpluses in U.S. government obligations dates back to the 1935 Social Security Act.

From MarketWatch • May 2, 2026

Another example is federal unemployment insurance, which was adopted in the 1935 Social Security Act and significantly expanded over the ensuing decades.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 5, 2026

FDR saw Social Security as protection against ‘the hazards and vicissitudes of life,’ as he put it in signing the Social Security Act 90 years ago this week.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 26, 2025

This law, which gives other benefits, too, was passed last year by Congress and is called the Social Security Act.

From Security in Your Old Age (Informational Service Circular No. 9) by Social Security Board

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Look it up. Learn it forever.

Remember "Social Security Act" for good with VocabTrainer. Expand your vocabulary effortlessly with personalized learning tools that adapt to your goals.

Take me to Vocabulary.com