Q 01/05

Which president signed the Social Security Act into law?

A) Herbert Hoover

B) Franklin D. Roosevelt

C) Harry S. Truman

D) Woodrow Wilson

Answer · why

B) Franklin D. Roosevelt

Franklin D. Roosevelt signed it on August 14, 1935, but retirees had to wait: payroll taxes began in 1937 and the first monthly checks went out only i...

Q 02/05

What does the acronym OASDI, the formal name of Social Security, stand for?

A) Old-Age Savings and Deposit Income

B) Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance

C) Official American Social Dividend Initiative

D) Old-Age Security and Dependents Income

Answer · why

B) Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance

Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance: the title grew with the program, which began in 1935 as an old-age pension for the worker alone.

Q 03/05

Social Security's first payout went to retired motorman Ernest Ackerman in January 1937: a one-time lump sum of how much?

A) 17 cents

B) 17 dollars

C) 170 dollars

D) 1,700 dollars

Answer · why

A) 17 cents

17 cents. Ackerman retired one day after the program began, with a single nickel withheld from his pay, so he more than tripled his money.

Q 04/05

The payroll tax that funds Social Security appears on American pay stubs under which acronym?

A) FAFSA

B) FICA

C) FDIC

D) FEMA

Answer · why

B) FICA

FICA stands for the Federal Insurance Contributions Act, and every dollar withheld is matched by the employer, so workers see only half of what is pai...

Q 05/05

Which president opened his second term by campaigning to let workers divert Social Security taxes into private investment accounts?

A) Ronald Reagan

B) Bill Clinton

C) George W. Bush

D) Barack Obama

Answer · why

C) George W. Bush

George W. Bush made it a top priority after his re-election and pushed it hard through 2005, yet the idea never became law.