Yes. I just looked at mine (issued in 1954) and you are correct.
I haven’t seen mine in decades and never have had need of it. Mine was just printed on paper, how is something like that supposed to last for decades in people’s wallets? For proof of identity, I just use my passport.
Most people my age do not have them because they were never asked for, except when applying for college or a job. Mine found it’s way in my wallet, the wallet was stolen, and I never bothered to replace it, and have not been asked to for the past 35 years.
Actually my birth certificate is fairly cool looking, not like the things issued today. Plus, it costs money to replace. And what if I become president? People would claim that the new one is not a real birth certificate.
I took mine to the SSA service center in 2005 to have a snafu related to the INS/USCIS corrected. They never sent me a replacement, and I had completely forgotten until now that I don’t have one. I’ve started a new job and enrolled in a graduate school in that time without needing it.
I used to work there. Unfortunately, if you’re not an employee or contractor you won’t even be able to park at the complex, let alone go in. There are no public facilities to help with routine matters like yours.
I had to get a new SS card when I got married four years ago. I had lost the original several years before and could not get a marriage license without the actual card.
Ooh, that’s another thing: I didn’t have to show my SSC to get a marriage license wither, just my FL driver’s license.
Gah! I’m shocked at how many people in this thread are carrying their SS card around in their wallet. Don’t do that!!! Keep it somewhere safe at home.
I don’t think I’ve ever even seen my Social Security card. I’m 36, and I’m sure my folks must have used it for something, but I’ve never found a purpose for it in my life. Got a passport, have been employed, am married, etc., none of that required my card, so far as I remember.
Or, lose track of it and never give it another thought.
Wow! You sure live and interesting life!
I mislaid my card 40 years ago and never got it replaced. But this thread reminds me that I’ll be applying for Soc Sec benefits real soon. Application for Replacement looks tedious, especially since I live overseas.
Will I actually need the card to get retirement benefits?
I had to have mine to renew my SD drivers license a couple of years ago because they are complying with new Homeland Security Act requirements. They said the cards couldn’t be laminated.
Since we were told to laminate them back when I got mine in the late 40s or early 50s, I had to get a new one.
It was easy to get but appeared to be more difficult unless it was a replacement for a lost one. So that is what I said on the forms. I decided that it was lost since it was not usable.
I still have my original card. Got it in '76 or '77, immediately put it in my wallet and have carried it ever since. I’ve needed to show it at nearly every job I’ve ever had.
My birth certificate is a different story. I’ve needed it once, when I was 15, to get my first driver’s license. If I had to produce it tomorrow I’d be in a world of hurt.
My wallet was stolen a few years ago, around the time I started going back to school for teaching. The police recovered it, but initially I was told to wait until the trial was over to recover my stuff. I kinda quit worrying about it since I got my other credit cards, driver’s license, etc. replaced. I wasn’t until I needed my SSC to get my teaching certification that I went back to calling the police department constantly (and not getting calls back). So I went to the closest SS office and ordered a new one. They gave me a piece of paper saying that my SSN was so-and-so that had a certified stamp on it (The raised kind, that you can feel, that you see on really legal forms, like that are notarized.) to use in the meantime.
Then I went to the PD and basically harassed them until I got my stolen items back - 2 years to the day after they were stolen.
Then the new one came in the mail.
So now I have 2 SS cards.
Long story short - it’s not that hard to get a replacement. I don’t remember if I had to show my birth certificate or just my driver’s license to get it.
So I went to the SS office today. About 12 minutes of driving and waiting in the lobby for around 30 min. to get called. Showed my drivers license and was told I will have a new one in about a week, through the male. So…free, but it did waste an hour out of my life. I have certainly wasted many more hours than that, but I still do not understand why anyone needs to see the card. They look super easy to fake, anyway.
I had to replace mine to be on Jeopardy and also to get married. No problem - you take your stuff to the lady at the window and they mail you a new one.
It’s the stupidest form of ID in the world anyway - “Hey, we won’t take your passport or your drivers’ license or any of that, just the piece of paper. Thanks.”
“No it is not illegal, but it’s best not to laminate your card. Laminated cards make it difficult, if not impossible, to detect important security features and an employer may refuse to accept it.”
Really? Because my SSC from way back looks like something somebody could fake by freehand with some ink pens. Do the newer cards have these fancy features now or is that old card of mine more sophisticated than it looks?
In my case, it is because someone told me I shouldn’t carry it in my wallet, which I had been doing for forty-odd years without incident.
So I put it in a safe place. That is the last I saw of it. :smack:
No. Mine is brand new and it looks just like yours does.