Save Our Security (SOS) was established in 1979 as a nonprofit coalition of over 200 national, state, and local organizations, primarily labor unions and advocacy groups for the disabled and the aged. SOS was formed in response to efforts to weaken the 50-year-old Social Security system, and it was devoted to protecting and improving all aspects of Social Security and health care: Old Age and Survivors' Benefits, Disability Insurance, Medicare and Medicaid, Unemployment, and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). Save Our Security was founded by Wilbur Cohen who had served on the Committee on Economic Security that drafted the original Social Security Act. He served as head of the SOS until his death in 1987.
Save Our Security was divided into two parts: the SOS Coalition itself and the SOS Education Fund. The two parts shared a common staff and many of the same committees, but they carried out different duties. The Coalition was in charge of coordination of the lobbying and advocacy work of its member organizations, while the Education Fund was in charge of research, publications, and outreach.
The Coalition informed and coordinated the activities of its member organizations who contributed to SOS in proportion to their size. It worked for increased benefits, improved paperwork and management of the Social Security Administration, equitable benefits for “Notch babies,” and protection of the Social Security trust funds from budget cuts.
The SOS Coalition and the Education Fund shared an executive director, assistant director, and a clerical assistant. This small staff, along with the chair, executive vice chair and the treasurer, handled the basic administrative and financial functions of both organizations. The Coalition and the Education Fund had separate executive and advisory committees, although committee membership often overlapped. The most active committees were: the Committee on Supplemental Security Income, the Women's Issues Committee, the Disability Committee, the Committee on Independent Agency and Administration, and the Medical Care Committee.
During the 1980s the SOS Coalition focused on lobbying and advocacy before congressional committees concerning proposed cutbacks in Social Security and Medicare. It also proposed expansion of disability and Medicare benefits, and it fought to secure benefits for those persons born in the “notch” created by the Social Security Act of 1974.
In 1987 SOS drafted a bill of rights for beneficiaries and contributors to Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income. This bill of rights focused on streamlining and making understandable the complex bureaucracy of the Social Security Administration. By 1990 all of the provisions in this bill of rights were adopted by Congress. In the 1990s the SOS Coalition turned to protecting the Social Security Administration from yearly budget debates. It also called for the expansion of Medicare and Medicaid and ultimately for Universal Health Coverage for all Americans.
After Wilbur Cohen's death in 1987 Arthur S. Flemming, Secretary of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare during the Eisenhower Administration, took over as chair of SOS. He served in that capacity until his death in 1995. At that point Robert J. Ball was chair until the organization until its demise in 1997.
The SOS Education Fund's mission was to educate the public about the importance of Social Security programs. The Education Fund was founded as part of SOS by Wilbur Cohen in 1979. It provided support services for the Coalition through research and publication. Among its publications were Social Security in the USA: A Discussion Guide to Social Insurance with Lesson Plans, Social Security: Crucial Questions and Straight Answers, Social Security: The Compromise and Beyond, Supplemental Security Income, and Unfinished Business: Adequacy and Equity for Women in the Social Security System.
Beginning in 1987 the Education Fund administered two large projects: SSI, An Appeal to Conscience and the Nelson Cruikshank Social Insurance Study Project. The SSI, Appeal to Conscience project was designed to increase public awareness of SSI. It elicited the help of social workers, clergy, and recipients of SSI in order to raise awareness of the need for increased SSI payments. The people recruited for this effort spoke out in public forums about the state of SSI and about life under SSI.
The Nelson Cruikshank Social Insurance Study Project was designed to “advance the education of young people about social insurance concepts” and to teach the history of social insurance. The project hoped to increase awareness of social insurance's place in history and in the lives of Americans, and it developed materials for use in secondary, college, and adult education classrooms. The project also included the production of a video for use in the classroom or other public forums.
The SOS came to an abrupt end in early 1997. Prior to this time SOS had been experiencing financial difficulties, and in the end it was unable to meet its small payroll. In January, 1997, Save Our Security was declared inactive.
