The Social Security Administration (SSA) is an independent U.S. federal agency that manages the nation's largest social insurance programs, providing retirement, disability, and survivor benefits to millions of Americans. Established as the Social Security Board by President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal via the Social Security Act of 1935, it was renamed the SSA in 1946 and regained its status as an independent agency in 1994, with headquarters in Woodlawn, Maryland. The agency operates on a massive scale, employing about 50,000 federal workers, maintaining over 300 million active Social Security numbers, and paying an estimated $1.83 trillion in benefits for fiscal year 2027. Historically, the first office opened in Austin, Texas, in 1936, and the first monthly retirement check was issued to Ida May Fuller of Vermont for $22.54 in January 1940, while automatic Cost of Living Adjustments (COLAs) were added in 1972. A notable legal ruling, Flemming v. Nestor (1960), established that Social Security is not a system of accrued property rights, meaning contributors have no contractual entitlement to their paid-in funds. Today, led by Commissioner Frank Bisignano, the SSA delivers services through over 1,500 field offices—reopened in April 2022 after pandemic closures—alongside extensive online, phone, and video channels.