This year Social Security is celebrating 50 years of the Supplemental Security Income - or SSI - program. 

Jack Myers with Social Security indicates President Nixon signed the bill in 1972 and in January 1974, SSA began issuing the first SSI payments to nearly 4 million people.

The goal of the SSI program was to aid the aged, blind, and individuals with disabilities with very limited income and resources. 

According to Myers, the SSI program remains a lifeline by providing cash assistance to about 2% of the U.S. population, approximately 7.5 million people with limited income and resources including nearly 1 million low-income children with disabilities.

For more information on the SSI program, visit www.ssa.gov/ssior for information on efforts to eliminate barriers visit the Social Security press release section of its Communications Corner at www.ssa.gov/news.