Santa Ana : Social Security Office Marks 50th Anniversary

The South Orange County district of the Social Security Administration commemorates its 50th anniversary today with a 1 p.m. celebration at its Santa Ana Civic Center offices, acting District Manager Sandra Klein said.

About 247,000 Orange County residents receive more than $1.3 billion each year from Social Security programs, including retirement, disability and survivors’ payments, Klein said.

The Social Security Act was passed on Aug. 14, 1935; the first checks were mailed a little more than two years later.

Another result of the 50-year-old act was the creation of unemployment insurance programs in each state. California’s Unemployment Reserve Act, passed in anticipation of the federal Social Security Act, set up the Economic Development Department to disperse unemployment payments.

The Orange County office of the EDD began collecting taxes from employers in 1936, District Administrator Stewart Lerner said.

“At that time, the maximum weekly benefit was $15 and minimum was $7,” he said. “Today, the maximum benefit is $166, the minimum $30.”

“Locally, our offices will take in about 130,000 unemployment insurance claims this year and we’ll pay out about $99 million in . . . benefits,” he said.