Ida May Fuller and the First Social Security Check: What Her Story Teaches Retirees Today
Short answer: Ida May Fuller, a retired legal secretary from Ludlow, Vermont, received the first monthly Social Security check. It was check number 00-000-001, dated January 31, 1940, for $22.54 (SSA History). She paid $24.75 in Social Security taxes over about three years, lived to 100, and collected $22,888.92 in benefits during her lifetime (SSA Historian).
When did Social Security start?
President Franklin Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act on August 14, 1935 (SSA History). Payroll taxes were first collected in 1937. The original law said monthly checks would start in 1942. Amendments passed in 1939 moved the start up to 1940.
From 1937 through 1939, the program paid only one-time lump sums. The first was 17 cents, paid to a Cleveland man named Ernest Ackerman in January 1937 (SSA History FAQ). So Ackerman was the first person paid anything. Ida May Fuller was the first person to receive ongoing monthly benefits.
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Ida May Fuller's first check
Ida May Fuller was born on September 6, 1874, on a farm outside Ludlow, Vermont. She taught school, then worked as a legal secretary starting in 1905 (SSA History). She never married and had no children.
She filed her claim on November 4, 1939, after working under Social Security for a little less than three years. She later said she stopped by the Rutland office on an errand: "It wasn't that I expected anything, mind you, but I knew I'd been paying for something called Social Security and I wanted to ask the people in Rutland about it."
Claims were sent to the Treasury in batches of 1,000. Her claim happened to be the first one on the first list. That is how she got check number 00-000-001.
The SSA Historian's Office later added up her records (SSA Research Note 3). Her covered wages from 1937 to 1939 totaled $2,475. The tax rate then was 1% for the worker and 1% for the employer (SSA tax rates), so her share was $24.75. She started benefits in January 1940 at age 65 and lived to be 100, dying in 1975.
| Ida May Fuller (SSA records) | Amount |
|---|---|
| Covered wages, 1937 to 1939 | $2,475 |
| Her Social Security taxes (1%) | $24.75 |
| First monthly check, January 31, 1940 | $22.54 |
| Total benefits collected in her lifetime | $22,888.92 |
| Years of benefits (age 65 to 100) | About 35 |
The arithmetic: her first check alone, $22.54, nearly repaid the $24.75 she put in. Over 35 years, $22,888.92 divided by $24.75 is about 925 times her own tax payments. The main reason was not the size of the check. It was how long she lived.
1940 vs 2026: the numbers side by side
Here is how the program looked when Ida May Fuller retired, next to the 2026 figures. Every number comes from the Social Security Administration (SSA) or the Social Security Trustees.
| Item | Then | 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly check | $22.54 (her first check, 1940) | $2,071 average retired worker, January 2026 (SSA) |
| Wages taxed for Social Security | First $3,000 (1937 to 1950) | First $184,500 (SSA) |
| Tax rate | 1% worker, 1% employer (1937 to 1949) | 6.2% worker, 6.2% employer (SSA) |
| Life expectancy at 65 | 11.9 years men, 13.4 women (1940) | 18.2 years men, 20.7 women (2025) (2026 Trustees Report) |
| Covered workers per beneficiary | 41.9 (1945) | 2.6 (2025) (2026 Trustees Report) |
| Automatic cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) | None (began 1975) | 2.8% for 2026 (SSA) |
A note on workers per beneficiary: the 1940 ratio was 159.4, because almost no one was collecting yet (SSA History). That is why the table uses 1945, the first year in the Trustees Report table.
One more date to know: on October 14, 2026, SSA announced a 3.6% COLA for 2027, starting with January 2027 benefits (SSA press release). The wage cap rises to $192,300 in 2027 (SSA 2027 fact sheet).
Lesson 1: longevity is the real story
Ida May Fuller collected for about 35 years. That was rare then, and it is still not typical now. But long retirements are far more common today.
In 1940, a 65-year-old man could expect about 11.9 more years and a woman about 13.4. By 2025, those figures were 18.2 and 20.7 years (2026 Trustees Report, Table V.A4). That is roughly 6 to 7 more years of retirement to pay for. And these are averages. Many people, especially women and married couples, will need income well past them.
Life expectancy at birth was low in the 1930s mostly because many children died young. SSA's historians point out that people who reached 65 back then could already expect to collect for many years (SSA History).
Lesson 2: raises were not automatic until 1975
Before 1975, benefits went up only when Congress passed a special law. Congress set up automatic COLAs in the 1972 amendments, and the first automatic COLA was paid in 1975 (SSA). Today the COLA is tied to the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W).
For a long retirement, that matters. A check that rises with prices keeps more of its buying power over 20 or 30 years than a fixed one. See the full year-by-year list in our Social Security COLA history guide.
Lesson 3: think of Social Security as the foundation
The workshop slide puts it simply: think of Social Security like the foundation of a house. It is income that lasts as long as you do and adjusts for inflation. Other savings are the walls and roof on top.
Here is a hypothetical example using 2026 rules. Someone with a full retirement age (FRA) of 67 has a benefit of $2,000 a month at FRA. Claiming at 62 pays 70% of that, or $1,400. Waiting to 70 pays 124%, or $2,480 (SSA rules on early claiming and delayed credits). The figures below ignore COLAs and taxes and are in today's dollars.
| Claim at | Monthly | Total by age 78 | Total by age 90 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62 | $1,400 | $268,800 | $470,400 |
| 67 | $2,000 | $264,000 | $552,000 |
| 70 | $2,480 | $238,080 | $595,200 |
The arithmetic: at 62, $1,400 times 12 months times 16 years to age 78 is $268,800. At 70, $2,480 times 12 times 8 years is $238,080. Live to 90, and the age 70 choice pays $124,800 more than claiming at 62. Like Ida May Fuller, the longer you live, the more the monthly amount matters. To see your own numbers, try the break-even calculator or read claiming at 62 vs 70.
What to do with this history
- Get your real numbers. Sign in at ssa.gov or read our Social Security statement guide.
- Plan for a long life, not an average one. Run a version of your plan to age 90 or 95.
- For couples, look at both lives. The survivor keeps the larger of the two checks, so the higher earner's claiming age matters for both.
- Count which income rises with prices. Social Security does. Many other income sources do not.
- Questions about your record? Call SSA at 1-800-772-1213, or ask a tax professional to model the tax side.
These numbers change every year
The IRMAA brackets, the standard deduction and the senior deduction are all adjusted annually, and the 2027 figures are published late in 2026. The one exception is the Social Security taxation thresholds, which have not moved since 1983 and are not expected to.
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See what your own first check could be
Use the Social Security calculator to estimate your monthly benefit at 62, at full retirement age and at 70.
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- SSA History: The First Social Security Beneficiary (checked October 14, 2026)
- SSA Historian's Office: Research Note 3, Ida May Fuller's Payroll Tax Contributions (checked October 14, 2026)
- SSA History: Social Security History FAQ (checked October 14, 2026)
- SSA History: Brief History, Origins of the Program (checked October 14, 2026)
- 2026 Social Security Trustees Report: Table V.A4 Period Life Expectancy and Table IV.B4 (June 9, 2026)
- SSA: Contribution and Benefit Base and Tax Rates (checked October 14, 2026)
- SSA: 2026 COLA Fact Sheet (checked October 14, 2026)
- SSA: Social Security Announces 3.6 Percent Benefit Increase for 2027 (October 14, 2026)
Frequently asked questions
Who received the first Social Security check?
Ida May Fuller of Ludlow, Vermont, received the first monthly Social Security check, number 00-000-001, dated January 31, 1940, for $22.54, according to SSA's historians.
Who was the first person to receive any Social Security payment?
Ernest Ackerman of Cleveland received a one-time lump sum of 17 cents in January 1937. Ida May Fuller was the first to receive ongoing monthly benefits, starting in 1940.
How much did Ida May Fuller pay into Social Security?
SSA records show she paid $24.75 in Social Security taxes on $2,475 of wages from 1937 to 1939. She collected $22,888.92 in benefits before she died in 1975 at age 100.
When did Social Security start?
The Social Security Act was signed on August 14, 1935. Taxes began in 1937, and monthly benefits began in January 1940.
When did Social Security cost-of-living adjustments start?
Automatic COLAs were enacted in the 1972 amendments and began in 1975. Before that, benefits rose only when Congress passed a law. SSA announced a 3.6% COLA for 2027 on October 14, 2026.
Want to run these numbers for your own situation?
The Retirement Literacy Foundation runs free retirement classes on Social Security timing, taxes in retirement, and how to turn savings into income. No products are sold at our classes.
The Retirement Literacy Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. This guide is general education, not individualized tax, legal or investment advice. Rules change with legislation and IRS and SSA guidance, and the right move depends on your situation. Check anything you plan to act on with SSA, the IRS or a qualified tax professional.
Hans Goldstein, EA
Founder & Executive Director · Retirement Literacy Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit
Admitted to practice before the IRS
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