The Townsend Plan, officially the Old-Age Revolving Pensions (OARP) plan, was a September 1933 proposal by California physician Francis Townsend for an old-age pension in response to the Great Depression, leading to a social and political movement. At its peak, the OARP advocacy group claimed more than 750,000 members.[1] The movement demonstrated nationwide demand for old-age pensions, leading Congress and President Franklin D. Roosevelt to adopt a national Social Security policy, though Townsend's original plan called for greater benefits to a greater number of people than Social Security provided.