Socialsecurity Administration in the USA is likely to undergo an upheaval if President George W. Bush' reforms go through!
Put simply, the reforms are a plan to privatize the investment side of American superannuation -- even to the extent of permitting individuals to have separate 'investment accounts'. This would free up funds for use by the private sector and correspondingly, earnings rates would be higher for individual superannuation.
It's a way to make the present resources work harder in the market with the goal of providing supplementary old age pensions more adequately.
Post 9/11 Reforms:
Social Security Admin. must now verify the birth record for all U.S.-born applicants age one and older.
Question #2: Can non-US Citizens obtain SS numbers? Answer: The SSA no longer assigns Social Security numbers and issues cards to noncitizens for the sole purpose of applying for driver's licenses. This change makes Social Security numbers less accessible to people who may use the numbers for fraudulent purposes. The SSA.gov will continue to assign numbers to noncitizens who have INS permission to work. (People who have been thoroughly checked out by US Immigration.) Social Security information databases are tightly integrated with these Federal authorities, naturally!
*Question #3: Is there a simple, low cost way to lookup Social Security numbers? Answer: Yes. There is a web-based tool that online investigators use to find SSNs and a person's last known address. The web site button for download is: Net Detective. (at Left) This tool has received the full endorsement of The National Association of Independent Private Investigators - NAIPI in the United States, for its ability to lookup Social Security information -especially searches of the SSDI. (Death Index).
Question #4: Can this tool give me access to other U.S. Public Records? Answer: Yes. Court and Criminal Records, across 50 States, Adoption, Motor Vehicles, 'how to read your FBI file,' and more. Also see this one: free credit report
Question #5: How are Social Security numbers used? Answer: There are two difficulties with the way SSNs are used these days. The first is that they are used (by different organizations, including hospitals, banks, share brokerages, driving licence authorities, universities, schools, etc.) as if they were both a representation of identity and a secure password-(some banks). The second problem is that they have become a widely used identifier which can be used to tie multiple records together about a single individual. In this Age of Information, they are used to integrate various Government departmental databases; thus issues arise about control, privacy, civil rights and freedom. Given the pressing present need for increased levels of National security, it is reasonable that some degree of individual freedom be sacrificed to ensure stricter Immigration control and general security. The SSN has become a de facto identity card in the United States of America, though that was not the original intention.