Economy and Kids!

What Is Your Number?

Everybody is supposed to have a Social Security card that has their Social Security number. This is the number that Social Security uses to keep track of your earnings throughout your life.

When people apply for Social Security benefits, Social Security uses this number to tell if they can get benefits and how much they can get. It is also the number the federal government uses to keep track of you in its records. You keep the same number throughout your life.

Your parents will need your Social Security number when they name you as one of their children on their income tax returns.

Today, parents can apply for Social Security numbers for their children at the hospital where they are born. It helps to give children a head start on life.