I’m sure he expected it to be from here to eternity.
I’m still getting my Social Security check and FDR has been dead a long time. Government programs don’t die easily. :-)
Since he was a socialist I would presume it was going to cure all ills forever.
Claude.ai:
Searched for “FDR Franklin Roosevelt Social Security duration expectations how long last”
Let me fetch more specific information about FDR’s statements on Social Security’s duration.
Fetched: Presidential Statements
Based on the comprehensive record of FDR’s statements on Social Security, there’s no evidence that Roosevelt expected Social Security to last for only a specific limited duration. In fact, the historical record shows quite the opposite.
FDR described Social Security as “a cornerstone in a structure which is being built but is by no means complete” when he signed the act in 1935. He viewed it as a permanent foundation that would be built upon over time.
Roosevelt insisted that Social Security “should be funded by payroll taxes rather than from the general fund” [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin_D._Roosevelt) to ensure its long-term sustainability. This design choice reflects his intention for the program to be self-sustaining and permanent.
Throughout his presidency, FDR consistently spoke of Social Security as an evolving, expanding program. In his 1939 message to Congress, he stated: “We shall make the most orderly progress if we look upon social security as a development toward a goal rather than a finished product” - language that suggests permanence and growth, not temporary duration.
Rather than setting an expiration date, Roosevelt repeatedly advocated for expanding Social Security coverage. He pushed for including more occupations and extending benefits, viewing the program as foundational to America’s economic security infrastructure.
The historical evidence suggests FDR envisioned Social Security as a permanent cornerstone of American social policy that would grow and adapt over time, not as a temporary program with a predetermined end date.
Citations:
- [Franklin D. Roosevelt - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin_D._Roosevelt)
More sources:
- [FDR’s Statements on Social Security](https://www.ssa.gov/history/fdrstmts.html)
- [Why Did Franklin Roosevelt Create Social Security? | Free the Facts](https://www.freefacts.org/resources/why-did-franklin-roosevelt-create-social-security)
- [Social Security History](https://www.ssa.gov/history/briefhistory3.html)
- [Why Social Security Was the Cornerstone of FDR’s New Deal](https://www.history.com/articles/social-security-history-fdr-new-deal)
- [Social Welfare History Project FDR’s Statement on Signing the Social Security Act](https://socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/social-security/social-security-an-introduction/)
- [Social Security Act - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Security_Act)
- [Historical Thinking Matters: Social Security](https://historicalthinkingmatters.org/socialsecurity/1/sources/35/fulltext/)
- [FDR Signing 1935 Social Security Act](https://www.ssa.gov/history/fdrsign.html)
- [Franklin D. Roosevelt Signs the Social Security Act - White House Historical Association](https://www.whitehousehistory.org/photos/franklin-d-roosevelt-signs-the-social-security-act)
Problems
FDR relied on in house “Economists”
Government always cooks the books
Planned Parenthood took off
Problems
FDR relied on in house “Economists”
Government always cooks the books
Planned Parenthood took off
In 1940, the average life expectancy at birth in the United States was approximately 65 years.
Today, the average life expectancy at birth in the United States is approximately 80 years.
So there you go. FDR didn’t read things wrong. He just didn’t anticipate the advances in medicine and health care.
———
Disclaimer: Those life expectancy numbers vary all over the place depending on the source. But I think the point is made regardless.
Read the book: FDR’s Folly.
Not worthy of what you need but here is a brief article.
Social Security differed from other New Deal programs in that it wasn’t a short-term solution to the Great Depression. It was a long-term investment.
https://www.history.com/articles/social-security-history-fdr-new-deal
The Social Security and Medicare funding crisis will be solved by the implementation of a European-style value added tax (VAT). Neither party will allow 70 million seniors to take a 25% cut in benefits. Most Freepers receive S/S benefits btw (and Medicare). Like everyone else, they will hold their nose and let it pass. Any bets??
This has a Fireside Chat and other pronouncements. Maybe will help.
https://www.ssa.gov/history/fdrstmts.html
When SS was birthed the life expectancy for a man was 65.5 years. Neither FDR nor Congress envisioned SS lasting more than a couple of years tops. Families took care of senior members so SS was supposed to help with their expenses. Plus it was never envisioned to be more than a basic supplement to personal savings. The notion of SS as a full income is a LBJ invention
I really doubt that FDR considered the effect of FEMINISM on Social Security.
The program would be flush with cash if invested. Instead the pols spend it and throw an IOU in there at 3% or so.
Probably so much it could oay off the national debt.
Just throw illegal aliens, not undocumented migrants or illegal migrants
migrants or newcomers, off Social Security and Medicaid and they would
last for a much longer time. To me the Demoncrats ...I mean Democrats ploy
is to let those 10+ millions of illegal aliens in, give them free stuff,
let them vote and they will then seize control of the US forever.
You can find his statements here:
https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/statement-signing-the-social-security-act-0
and here:
https://www.ssa.gov/history/fdrstmts.html
I doubt he made any predictions on how long it would last.
In those days, people married, had large families, and didn’t live long, so the prospects would have seemed good for Social Security. Different generations lived together under one roof, so Social Security would be a supplement to savings and to what younger family members earned.
There would have been no reason why FDR would think that the system would collapse at some point. Social Security did a lot to break up the very social and economic conditions that made it seem like a good bet at the time, but few foresaw that in the Thirties.
It was presented as a permanent arrangement. Part of a new deal you might say.
From an old article from 1964...
https://www.ssa.gov/history/ssa/usa1964-2.html
“Self-Supporting
The program is designed so that contributions plus interest on the investments of the social security trust funds will be sufficient to meet all of the costs of benefits and administration, now and into the indefinite future—without any subsidy from the general funds of the Government. Both the Congress and the Executive Branch, regardless of political party in power, have scrupulously provided in advance for full financing of all liberalizations in the program.”
From a different article, you were supposed to retire at 62, but the average life span was 57 years meaning very little would be paid out.
Then came penicillin.
Tax and tax, spend and spend, elect and elect.
If Americans had not made the unfortunate decision to eat right, stay active, and treat their personal health as a primary concern, then maybe the life expectancy would not have risen so far, and people today would not be in the third or fourth decade of their retirements collecting from Social Security. Average life expectancy in 1935 was LESS than 65 years of age.
Very few of the original applicants for Social Security payments lived long enough to collect back much more than they had put in to begin with.