In 1935, America was smack dab in the middle of the Great Depression. It was the year canned beer was invented, the board game Monopoly entered the market and Elvis was born.
Also, that year, my father was born in New Bedford, Massachusetts. He was brought up in the next town over, Fairhaven, which was home to many whaling captains, including Warren Delano. It was there in 1903, after Thanksgiving Dinner, that Franklin Delano Roosevelt told his mother, Sara Delano Roosevelt, of his intention to marry Eleanor.
Franklin went on to become the President of the United States and was, in fact, in office in 1935. In my humble opinion, he is the greatest American President to ever have served. Through his New Deal he gave us many economic programs that created jobs, financial reform and economic stimulation, and most remain in effect, in one form or another, today.
Specifically, on Wednesday, August 14, 1935 at approximately 3:30 P.M., President Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law creating the “Social Security Board.” Therefore, I wish a very happy, belated, 90th birthday to Social Security! There is a wonderful video on YouTube of FDR signing the Act and giving a short speech saying “we can never insure one hundred percent of the population against one hundred percent of the hazards and vicissitudes of life, but we have tried to frame a law which will give some measure of protection to the average citizen and to his family against the loss of a job and against poverty-ridden old age.” He acknowledges that it might not be perfect but it will help most citizens.
Ninety years later, now known as the Social Security Administration (SSA), it is an independent agency of the Federal Government with approximately 60,000 employees and is headquartered at it’s Central Office located on Security Boulevard, State Route 122, in Woodlawn, Maryland. It has over one thousand field offices and administers retirement, disability and survivor benefits.
On the occasion of the 90th birthday (or anniversary, as some say) of Social Security, President Trump issued a Proclamation and the current SSA Commissioner, Frank J. Bisignano, issued an Open Letter to the American People, calling Social Security “a program that has stood as a pillar of economic security and dignity for generations of Americans.” Both men acknowledged the history of the SSA and the many improvements there have been in the Administration recently.
In fact, under Commissioner Bisignano’s leadership, calls have been answered faster, wait times for in-person appointments at field offices have been shorter and overall efficiency has increased, especially with regard to the backlog of disability claims.
The Social Security Administration’s website is extremely user friendly and contains quite a bit of information, including the History of the Administration and biographies of each Commissioner.
Social Security effects each and every American in one way or another.
In fact, many of my clients receive Social Security retirement or disability benefits. In the Bankruptcy realm, Social Security benefits are disregarded for purposes of qualification. Meaning, they don’t count against someone trying to file for bankruptcy relief.
Also, if a client is in the midst of applying for Social Security Disability and is ultimately awarded back-pay, that money is an exempt and protected asset in the Debtor’s Bankruptcy Estate.
If a Debtor who filed for Bankruptcy has Student Loans and seeks to discharge said loans through the Bankruptcy Court in an Adversary Proceeding, the fact that the Debtor receives Social Security Disability benefits works in the Debtor’s favor because they are officially deemed disabled and unable to work by an official government agency.
Additionally, in Chapter 13 Repayment Bankruptcies, although Social Security Benefits are not considered disposable income, a Debtor can certainly use Social Security benefits to help repay their debts and likely have a more favorable outcome overall, especially with regard to preserving their assets and mitigating their losses such as in the case of foreclosure. In other words, social security benefits can be leveraged to save debtors’ homes from being taken.
The intersection of Social Security and Bankruptcy is an interesting one.

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Byline: Attorney Theresa Rose DeGray is the owner of Consumer Legal Services, LLC, a debt relief agency in Orange helping people file for Bankruptcy relief under the Bankruptcy Code.