It is determined by the two middle digits. The digits 68 for Conn. were issued during those 2 years. Here is a site where you can check it ( enter 042 68 ):
I put in the first five digits of my SSN, and it said it was issued four years later than it actually was.
Was it accurate for yours?
Thanks for that link!
That’s an interesting site. It confirms that SSN 042-68-4425 was issued for CT during years 1976-1977.
However, the site points to another site, Structure of Social Security Numbers, which states the following:
“Area numbers assigned prior to 1972 are an indication of the location of the SSA office which originally issued the SSN. Since 1972 SSNs have been issued centrally and the area number in SSNs assigned since 1972 corresponds
to the residence location of the applicant as indicated on the application for the SSN.”
http://w2.eff.org/Privacy/ID_SSN_fingerprinting/ssn_structure.article
Thus, for a number issued in 1976-77, the area number (042) should have denoted the STATE OF RESIDENCE for the applicant.