Strengthen the Integrity and Protection of the Social Security Number

In Fiscal Year 2012, SSA assigned approximately 5.5 million original Social Security numbers (SSNs) and issued about 11 million replacement SSN cards. In the same fiscal year, SSA also recorded approximately $585 billion in employment taxes related to earnings under assigned SSNs. 

Assigning SSNs only to those individuals authorized to obtain them, protecting information once the numbers are assigned, and accurately posting earnings reported under SSNs are critical SSA missions. 

These investigations and reports describe our efforts to meet these missions.