3 ms·

Are SSN's assigned at birth?

• dharmab 5y ago
  They were not originally, but now they are. There is an interesting case of a Texas woman who was born "off-radar" to libertarian parents and had no government documentation of her existence. This caused major problems with access to services and employment in her adult life until a senator intervened and introduced legislation for the situation. SSNs are not universal, either. There are some unions and religious groups that have legal exemptions.
  • astura 5y ago
    >SSNs are not universal, either. There are some unions and religious groups that have legal exemptions. Exempt from participating in social security (the program), not exempt from having a social security number. In fact, getting a social security number is the first step in applying for an exception from social security. Basically, SSA needs to track you as being exempt from social security, which requires a unique identifier.
• toast0 5y ago
  Not exclusively, but Enumeration at Birth is pushed hard and I saw a stat that I believe said 99% of infants were enumerated at birth (it may have said that 99% of enumerated infants were enumerated at birth, however). This process began in 1987. Since you need a SSN for a child to get the tax benefits of a child (as of 1986), and most parents will want those, it's an easy sell to get a SSN while processing the rest of the birth paperwork, rather than doing it later. I was born before 1986 and I believe my parents applied for SSNs for me and my siblings around then because it was needed for tax purposes.