(Aug. 14, 1935) Legislation that established a national old-age pension system in the U.S. Dissatisfied with the government response to the Great Depression , about five million people joined "Townsend clubs" to support the plan of Francis E. Townsend (18671960) to demand a $200 monthly pension for everyone over the age of 60.
Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt established a committee on economic security (1934), which recommended legislative action to the U.S. Congress. The act provided old-age benefits to be financed by a payroll tax on employers and employees. The system was later expanded to include dependents, the disabled, and others.