I was born in 1954 and we did not apply for SS card until we were 16 at that time we were allowed to start working at 16!,,
Similar story, born in 1954, got an SSN when I was 12 and needed a passport to move to Japan with my DOD parents.
I was born in 1955, and my dad got SS cards for all 6 of the kids in about 1962 or 1963. I started work outside our home at age 7, picking berries, but we got paid in cash when we brought the picked berries to the collection point in the field. My first job that was paid via paycheck was at 16.