Why YSK: If you are a US Resident, don’t lose your Social Security card more than 10 times, or else you might need to respawn 💀
Excerpt from Wikipedia:
In accordance with §7213 of the 9/11 Commission Implementation Act of 2004 and 20 CFR 422.103, the number of replacement Social Security cards per person is generally limited to three per calendar year and ten in a lifetime.
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Social security numbers need to be phased out. Such a ridiculous and outdated system.
It’s important to remember social security numbers were created ONLY to track Social Security benefits. And the Social Security Bureau continually advised everyone to please not use them for a way to teach other things, but no one listened so here we are. The Bureau readily admits it’s not designed to do anything else . https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19697506/#%3A~%3Atext=Abstract%2Cas+a+nearly+universal+identifier.
But they’re shit even for that. Part of tracking Social Security benefits is tracking taxes paid to Social Security. Unlike other forms of ID, like credit cards, SSNs have no check digits or other means of error prevention. Take a valid SSN. Change on of the digits. That new number is also a valid SSN. Any random 9-digit number can be a valid SSN.
What this means is that all it takes to screw up any form with an SSN on it is to have illegible handwriting on a single one of the digits. You make a single easy error on an employment form, and now your SS taxes are registered under the wrong number.
I’m also skeptical of the Social Security Bureau’s stance on insisting it wasn’t intended as a broad identifier. OF COURSE it was going to be used as an identifier! It’s the only single ID number that the federal government gives out to everyone. OF COURSE it’s going to be used for that. Such a number is of such obvious and great utility that of course it was going to be used for broader purposes. If you create something of such obvious utility, you have an obligation to make sure it’s made well.
It also really strains credulity when Social Security has an entire system dedicated to allowing third parties to verify SSNs. It’s literally called The Social Security Verification Service.
If the Social Security Administration really didn’t want SSNs being used for purposes other than Social Security, then they could have easily prevented them for being used for such purposes. Think about how your SSN works with your bank. You apply for a bank account. They ask you your SSN. You tell them. But how do they know that this information is accurate? Your bank contacts Social Security! The bank has a form you sign that gives permission for them to as the Social Security Bureau to confirm your SSN. And the Social Security office happily obliges.
The Social Security Administration doesn’t just tolerate the use of SSNs for third party uses. It actively facilitates such third party uses of SSNs.
You’re noticing all the things that have happened since the Bureau have up trying to prevent the usage. Remember there was no way to electronically do anything like this for decades after the SSN was created. And the Bureau has no authority to enforce any kind of prevention, but was forced to support it’s usage as a result of the Federal government lack of action to come up with any other system for the last 90 years.
I was going to say the first thing we’d recognize as a computer didn’t get built until over a decade after SSN’s were established.
Any random 9-digit number can be a valid SSN.
Not true - there are whole ranges that specifically aren’t in use (mostly specific values for the first three digits that are intentionally not used). Outside those ranges though, yeah, basically any 9 digit number. Add one to the last digit of your SSN and if you were born before 2014 you likely get someone born in the same hospital on the same day.
Yup. It’s ridiculous that it’s snowballed into this precious secret that you have to give to most employers 🤦🏻
In slight fairness, your employer has to set up payroll so that part of your paycheck automatically goes to Social Security. So they kind of need it, since there’s not another way to track that you get proper credit for paying in to Social Security. Unless you are self employed and you send the money directly in yourself.
we should just give everyone a uuid.
I take 1
Just brand a number into their necks, that should make things easier
Right? Children should be minted as on the block chain. They’re basically NFTs.
Huh, at a glance, that might actually be a good use for the blockchain.
Blockchain is a ledger, not a database.
DNA already has blockchain vibes. We could unravel the … transactions if we understood all the code.
DNA
transactions
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
So if I have a child, I can use them as speculative currency?
How much does this NFT go for?
I’d say the sum of their organs and borrowing power of their credit score.
Organs are not worth as much as they used to
Sir, are you trying to sell a child?
Yes! How much do you want for it? I only accept payment in bottlecaps, and nuke-soda.
Why? Because the system itself is arcane and could be done smarter? Or because the government has no business being able to distinguish between people with the same name? I need to understand this before going into a discussion with you.
Or because the government has no business being able to distinguish between people with the same name?
Seems like an objectively terrible approach, considering people with the same name have gotten the same SSN before.
Such an ID would have to be unique.
That would fall into the first category… Also, wtf? How can the same SSN be issued twice?!? It’s a frigging serial number, not a condom at a whore house.
Roughly 1/7 SSNs are issued twice. SSNs are recycled, used multiple times, all that good stuff.
This is why it’s incredibly dangerous when people assume they are unique.
Sometimes there’s a limited supply of condoms and an endless need ….
SSN is 9 digits long, one billion possibilities. While that sounds like a lot, that’s less than triple the number of Americans currently alive, and there’s a continuous progression of new births and older people passing requiring a continuous flow of new SSNs being used. In an 80 year average lifespan where you are holding an SSN,that continuous usage goes through the available numbers all too quickly.
Even worse, numbers used to be allocated by area, meaning there were a lot of wasted numbers where growth didn’t match expectations, and corresponding shortages where numbers needed to be re-used because of local scarcity
Like you, I am waiting to see what asinine response they give.
Wasn’t going to bother answering because it was an asinine question. Obviously the first one.
Why. The hell. Are we supposed to keep sacred a piece of paper that only has 9 precious numbers we can’t choose, but that will permanently identify us, that will deteriorate over time, we’re not supposed to laminate or protect it, and we only have limited replacements!? So dumb…
Got rained on when I went to a new job about 10 years ago, had it in my wallet so they could copy it for new hire bs. The colors bled and the blue stained other parts of the card. I never got it replaced but seriously, it isn’t even as durable as a dollar bill.
That part is actually by design. The thought being that if you lose it that it will be more likely to be naturally destroyed than have the time to be found by someone with nefarious aims.
The 10 max rule (which allows for exceptions) was from 2004 when presumably they assumed most people did not have reason to be walking around with theirs all the time. I don’t know why it was put in place, other than a cursory search seeming to be antiterrorism bs, but 10 is kinda a lot for a document you generally don’t need to carry with you and don’t need very often in general. Probably super difficult for people that struggle with housing though.
You can use plastic sleeve covers, just nothing permanent like laminate. You can’t scan it with laminate.
“scan it”!? They don’t have barcodes on them, do they? I haven’t replaced mine in a while, but it certainly didn’t…
Why would you need to scan it? And why wouldn’t you be able to scan a laminated document? The scan might look worse but I doubt it would be that bad.
I’ve got a locked file cabinet with folders for all my important documents like social security card, birth certificate, the degrees I don’t have hanging on the wall, lease contracts, stuff like that. Also a shitton of appliance manuals
That certainly doesn’t sound like the first thing to get utterly torched in a house fire.
I actually keep them (minus appliance stuff because I just find them online and download the pdf and never found them that important) in a fireproof safe. Honestly, it’s not a lot of stuff, and so the safe is really small. It didn’t cost much at all but you do have to replace it like every 10ish years since fireproof doesn’t last forever.
…this. Let’s have a talk about basic security and prevention, because it’s important.
First of all, I wanted to factor in prices, but according to this webpage, the replacement social security cards should be free. However. I wouldn’t know from personal experience, and cannot verify.
By a combination of a small miracle, some neglect, and then some careful choices to safeguard it…I still have my original SS card. I would recommend getting a little passport case or something, and some metal plates or hard plastic cards to keep the SS card from bends/creases. Then you can place it in a blaze barrier document bag like this one. No, you don’t need this exact one, all I did was type in ‘blaze barrier document bag’ into Amazon because that’s the branding on mine. I just looked at it. $20 bag, goes a long way keeping that card safe & unmolested.
Those bags aren’t entirely fireproof & it’s only one layer; they’ve done extreme tests & the contents can (possibly) become slightly torched. That’s where you can buy a shitty 90s fireproof lockbox for next to nothing secondhand, I know I’ve got at least 2 & I think one was $5 & the other $10. Arguably more effective than the bag, my friend’s house burned down but he had a shitty 90s fireproof lockbox & it kept his personal documents & pictures of his deceased mother fully intact.
We’re not looking to confound master thieves with a safe, we’re just looking to safeguard SS cards and/or pics of dead moms. 👍 FB Marketplace, I found ones for $10-15 in IL, KY, MO. Everybody has these shitty 90s fireproof lockboxes. No excuse. Put the document(s) in the bag, and the bag in the shitty 90s fireproof lockbox. Double protection.Also noteworthy: fireproof concrete lined filing cabinets (I recommend FireKing), sometimes you can find them cheap used because they’re a heavy nuisance item. If you have a basement, put the fireproof/resistant stuff in your basement or ground floor. It’s more stable there & should survive.
Then for those interested in the eccentric & the extreme, dive down the rabbithole known as Starlite fireproof coatings. While we may never know the exact formulation of this wonder material as it was presented, it turns out Maurice Ward merely rediscovered the lost art of intumescent materials that release layers of carbon char when exposed to heat. You can buy intumescent paint like this one & it’ll essentially fireproof any material you paint!
So in conclusion, yes, you can buy fire resistant filing cabinets. Even “fireproof” ones. And safes, and lockboxes, and document bags, and even intumescent paint. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
I plan on burning my house down fewer than ten times in my life
You can laminate it. New ones don’t say not to, mine is and have never even been asked about it.
so if you want to ruin someones life, just steal their social security card 10 times?
I mean… you could just falsely accuse them of being a terrorist. 🤷♂️
You could just falsely accuse them of being an immigrant.
It’s a legit fear I have going to a protest as a Latino. They say don’t take IDs with you to protests. Bruh, I’m taking my US Passport so I don’t get deported to Guantanamo. No guarantee that will work either.
Your SS card has been redeemed, you have 8 protests remaining. Enroll in citizenship plus for $999,999,999.99 and get 100 lifetime SS card replacements, plus a month of Tesla+ on us!
They say don’t take IDs with you to protests.
The point is don’t lose it in the protest so it gets you identified.
But if you are an at-risk minority group, of course you bring it. Better risk getting identified than getting (unconstitutionally) deported.
What happens if someone gets married a lot and keeps needing a new card with new name?
Now I’m wondering what the maximum number of times someone has been married. Elizabeth Taylor was married 8 times (twice to Burton, so she could have reused that one if she kept it) But if she took her husband’s last name legally (while keeping her stage name) each time, she would have been pushing the limit, and over it if she went back to her maiden name, lost any cards, or didn’t keep old ones… Or if her lawyers were like, don’t change your name legally again after husband 5?
I guess they’re not replacement cards but newly issued ones
Yeah I think this is to counter someone selling theirs on purpose replacing it. Guess the number is just honestly an estimate of what could reasonably happen, but then it’s still 3 a year. But then again you couldn’t definitely have such bad luck to lose your wallet thrice a year.
Anyways, I’d assume that if (well before the US went totally mad) there was an actually reasonable case of someone encountering the limit who clearly wasn’t a fraudster, it’d probably be amended.
But that’s just my cursed optimism, probably doesn’t reflect reality.
https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-20/chapter-III/part-422/subpart-B/section-422.103
We may allow for reasonable exceptions to these limits on a case-by-case basis in compelling circumstances. We also will consider name changes (i.e., verified legal changes to the first name and/or surname) and changes in alien status which result in a necessary change to a restrictive legend on the SSN card (see paragraph (e)(3) of this section) to be compelling circumstances, and will not include either of these changes when determining the yearly or lifetime limits.
Who down-voted you? You answered my idle thought with the sauce!! Thank you!!
I learned this for my parents because they had to keep getting me new ones. They got my name incorrect 9 times, the social security office. So my parents kept going back and then they warned them I’m close to the limit. My mom and dad we’re pissed because my parents didn’t lose it the office kept making a mistake but it doesn’t matter. Now my mom keeps it so it doesn’t get lost.
40+ years, and I’m still on number one. I laminated mine, because I’m a rebel that way.
I keep mine in an old gift card tin along with my draft card, previous ID cards, backup insurance cards, and a couple other things.
Ah fuck I don’t know what happened to my draft card. If they weren’t okay with giving me a desk job but still insist ob drafting me they’d regret it more than I would (innocent fuckups can be expensive, and few people can fuck up to the extent I can).
What’s a draft card?
In the US men (and I think women now?) are required to sign up for the draft at age 18. You’re given a card confirming you’ve signed up.
Oh I see, it’s a consequence of the US not registering all residents. In Germany we don’t have to sign up for the draft, because the local municipality already has a registry with all its residents names, addresses and birthdates
After that they come round and tattoo it onto your forehead.
I had to replace mine once. Put it in a safer spot and haven’t had to move it since. I can’t imagine what someone is doing where they’d need to replace a social security card 10 times.
Some people don’t live in the same place all of their lives.
Some people are dumb and carry it in their wallet.
Shiiiiiet I’m like 2-3 away probably lol
hopefully all record of replacements will seem gay for some reason and get scrubbed.
"It’s for TRANSactions? DEFUNDED!
Is it not the same thing as Canadian SIN?
I don’t understand how can you lose it? It’s just a number. If you forget it, you can login into CRA (Canadian IRS) website and see it there and you can print it if you want for some reason.
My last job required the actual physical card for some reason 🤔
Every job I’ve ever had required me to bring the card so they could make a copy of it.
That’s what I always wondered: the card is a simple printout with no security features, no real verification, no biometrics. In the current day especially, it would be trivial to print one indistinguishable from original. They have no value as an ID card, yet are somehow treated as if they were.
The SS card doesn’t make sense as anything other than a reminder of your number, but it’s sometime treated as a form of ID. It just doesn’t make sense
The number’s 10 now? It was 3
I mean, the card isn’t ID, and you should have your number memorized by now.
They upped the number to 10? Last time I had to replace mine (about 10-20 years ago), the limit was set to 3.
Maybe they changed it because y’all lose it too much 😁
3 per year. 10 per lifetime. To my understanding that’s been the standard since a limit was introduced.
Avoid paying taxes with this one weird trick
How do we convince sovereign citizens that by claiming, and then burning, all their 10 replacement cards, they get loopholes out of paying federal income taxes?
Give them a federally issued punch card and say after you lose 10 social security cards you get a free sub and chips combo
That’s not the way it works.
Ummm have you ever seen Elon Musk’s social security card??? And how much tax does he pay??? That’s what I thought.
Checkmate theist
I would like to see Elon Musk’s birth certificate. He shouldn’t be president if he isn’t a legal citizen.
It’s somewhere in South Africa. And just in case, you have to be a citizen of the US by birth to be eligible for the presidency.
That’s why he’s “not” the president…
“Never try to argue with an idiot. He’ll drag you down to his level and then win by experience.”
Samuel Clemens
Yes you can’tn’t
Oh, a gif! I take back everything I said.
My ass it isnt commie
From what I’ve heard, your rear end has been attacked more than Stalingrad was.
jk
