What was the role and impacts of the Social Security Act during the Great Depression? How did it actually help to improve the conditions?

In 1935, the federal government introduced the Social Security Act to provide an old-age pension for people aged 65 and over. It also enabled the states to make provide better welfare provision for the elderly, blind people, children and mothers. At the time of its introduction, America was in the grip of the Great Depression when many members of society battled poverty, unemployment and deprivation. This Act represents the beginning of social welfare in America: a safety net for people who are unemployed, injured at work or retired which guarantees a monthly payment to meet the basic costs of living. 

For the elderly, the Social Security Act only covered people who were already over the age of 65 and did not give out very generous amounts of money. Its impact, however, was pretty huge: the recipients were no longer reliant on their families to financially support them and they could retire without worrying about the future.