On Aug. 14, 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law as a way to help retirees and their families.

On Friday, the Alliance for Retired Americans joined Lehighton retirees to celebrate the 79th anniversary of the benefit program.Helen Torok, zone coordinator for Carbon County, organized the event, held at Baer Memorial Swimming Pool in Lehighton.She said that she and the alliance wanted to celebrate this with seniors as well as provide them with information and their rights with Social Security benefits."They are entitled to this," Torok said. "This is their benefit, so we want to help answer their questions."Jody Weinreich, regional board member for the Alliance for Retired Americans, said it is important to keep the people informed about a benefit they earned.Torok and Weinreich spoke to the two dozen retirees in attendance and handed out information. They also sang "Happy Birthday" to Social Security before cutting a cake.Torok said another celebration will be held in September in Jim Thorpe.