7
what
the NEW
social security
means to
you
m
6S
employees' and employers'
new rote
1958
1959
1960-62
1963-65
1965-68
2Va - I
n i
32o 1
4 i
1969 and thereafter 4l2c
self-employed new rate
' 1958
1959
, 1960-62 4l2
1965-68 , 6 :
; 1969 and thereafter 6 A
3
to
You'll be
poying more to
support the program
be sure you
don't miss any
of its benefits.
I
by Joseph N. lell
n a small upstate New York town last year, a
young widow with two small children was
spending upwards of 12 hours a day scrubbing
floors to make enough money to keep her going.
In Illinois, a 71-year-old man had exhausted his
savings and was desperately trying to avoid asking
help from his children.
About the same time, the widow of an Army
sergeant killed in a military accident was forced
to break up her home on the West Coast and seek
foster parents for her five children.
These widely scattered people with widely diver
gent problems had one pathetic thing in common:
each was eligible for sizable Social Security pay
ment and didn't realize it.
The first widow didn't know that dependents can
draw Social Security benefits even though the de
ceased husband hadn't reached the age of 65; the
elderly man thought that Social Security was only
for the impoverished and had pauperized himself
before seeking it; and the Army widow wasn't aware
that military service counts in adding up the period
of time needed for Social Security coverage.
These are just three of the many thousands of
Americans who, out of ignorance or apathy, fail to
collect what is due them from the Social Security
program to which they contributed. In September,
President Eisenhower signed into law a new Social
Security bill which liberalized benefits considerably.
Every American should know the provisions of this
bill and understand what it means to him.
Specifically, the new Social Security law:
1. Increased benefits by about 7 percent.
2. Raised the maximum allowable monthly benefit
(principally for widows with dependent children)
from $200 to $254.
3. Liberalized the work requirements for disabled
workers to benefit from the program, and provided
payments for their dependents.
4. Enhanced the earning power of retired workers.
Although the maximum allowable yearly income
remains at $1,200, retired workers can now draw
monthly benefit checks for any month in which they
did not earn $100 or more.
5. Provided benefits for dependent parents of a
deceased worker, even though he or she is survived
by a widow, widower, or child.
6. Made it easier for borderline types of work to
be included under the Social Security program,
liberalized benefits for adopted children, and pro
vided payments (under certain circumstances) to
annuitants who remarry.
7. Stipulated that increased benefits should begin
with the first monthly payment for 1959, due shortly
after Feb. 1.
This sizable broadening of benefits will tap the
Social Security till for many additional millions of
dollars each year. Since the program operated in the
red for the first time in 1958, this means a consider
able increase in the Social Security tax rate is neces
sary to support the new program and make up
deficits in the old one. As a result, Americans will
be paying into Social Security at a steadily increas
ing rate over the next decade.
The new Social Security law steps up the tax rate
every three years (beginning with an increase of
M of 1 percent for employed workers and of 1
percent for self-employed people in 1959) instead
of the five-year interval in the old law. Thus the
maximum rate of 4 percent for employers and
employees (or a combined 9 percent) and 6 per
cent for self-employed people will be attained by
1969 instead of 1975. And beginning Jan. 1, 1959
Social Security taxes will be applied to the first
$4,800 (instead of the previous $4,200) of income.
This means that Social Security is going to cost
the employed worker $51 more in 1959 assuming
he earns more than $4,800. In 1960, and each third
year after that until 1969, the Social Security tax
will increase an additional $48, divided equally be
tween worker and employer. Thus, by 1969 under
the present law you and your employer will be
contributing a maximum of $432 annually to' support
Social Security. During the same period (1960
1969), the tax on self-employed persons earning
$4,800 or more will increase from $142 yearly to $324.
These figures add up to the fact that you are in
vesting a considerable portion of your present and
future income in Social Security. You should know
what you're getting for it. Unhappily, many Ameri
cans have only a limited knowledge of their rights
under the Social Security program.
Qocial security is available to help you in three
, broad areas. First, it provides income to
dependents of deceased and living workers
who have contributed to the program and who have
died or reached retirement age. Second, it offers
monthly old-age benefits to men 65 years of age or
over and women 62 or over. And, finally, it supplies
an income for workers (50 years of age or over)
covered by the program who have become totally
disabled through accident or illness as well as to
the wife and minor or disabled children of such
covered workers.
There are many complexities within these three
broad areas, but if your situation falls within any of
them, you should investigate. Far and away we
least-understood benefit under Social Security is
thf enruitmr'c i : vit;il COn-
. i mauitunt;, yev una a "
sideration, particularly to young families.
Take the case of the factory worker in Baltimore
Family Weekly. November 21, I95J
1
JkU
average ;
monthly V
salary
retired
worker at 65
retired worker
and wife at 65
woman worker
retired at 62 .
widow at 62
widow or
widower with
child or parent
widow with
two children
-J oici
$50 ; j $30.00
new V
$33.00 J
old new
$45.00 $49.50
old new j old new
$24.00 $26.40 f $30.00 $33.00
old new j old new
t k $45.00 $49.60 j $50.20 $53.10
100
55.00 59.00
82.50 88.50 j 44.00 47.20
41.30 44.30
82.60 88.50
82.60 88.50
150
68.50
73.00 I j 102.50 109.50 j 54.80 58.40 . . j 51.40 54.80 I j 10210 109.60 120.00
120.00
200 j jj 78.50 84.00 j 117.80 126.00 " 62.80 67.20 j 58.90 63.00 j 117.80 126.00 j 157.10
161.60
250
feJ 88.50
95.00 j I 132.80 142.50
j 70.80 76.00 I 66.40 71.30 132.80 142.60 j 177.20
o
190.10
300 -I 98.50 105.00
147.80 157.50 f 78.80 84.00 73.90 78.80 ! j 147.80 157.60 197.10 210.20
350
;;j 108.50
116.00
t 162.80 174.00 I 86.80 92.80
4 r. w
81.40 87.00
t i r
16.80 14.00
i
200.00 232.00
400
108.50 127.00
162.80 190.50 jj 86.80 101.60 Vr 81.40
95.30 I j 162.80 190.60 f,
200.00 254.00
whose wife had also been employed. She died sud
denly, leaving him with a small daughter who had
to be cared for while the father was at work. For
five years he struggled along, strapped by the cost
of his daughter's care, plus their normal living
expenses. Then, one day, while rummaging through
some old papers, he found his wife's Social Security
card and noticed it said to notify the agency if any
worker in the family died. He did and found that
he was entitled to $73 a month to help with the care
of his daughter until she was 18 years old.
Social Security officials estimate that there are
many thousands of Americans like this worker
who are unaware of benefits to which they are en
titled. A majority of them fall into one of the
following groups:
Widows and retired women workers over 62
who haven't taken advantage of the lowering of the
eligibility age for women from 65 to 62 in 1956;
Self-employed workers. About one-fifth of the
eligibles in this group are not filing the necessary
returns to bring them under the program, even
though this action is required by law;
Farmers. Only about two-thirds of the farm
people eligible for coverage are contributing as
required to Social Security;
Clergymen. More than half of the nation's
clergymen are not taking advantage of the Social
Security coverage optional for them which was
granted in 1954;
Permanently disabled workers. This group,
which is probably the neediest of all, also has the
largest number of workers entitled to benefits who
have not applied for them. In 1956, Congress added
disability insurance to the Social Security program,
and provided that a permanently disabled worker
could collect his full retirement benefits at the age
of 50, providing he requested that the wage record
of his earning years be "frozen" after the disability
took place. Although the figure is being reduced
steadily, an estimated 25 percent of the nation's dis
abled workers have not requested the "freeze" and
aren't collecting Social Security benefits due them.
In addition, there are hundreds of thousands of
workers over 65 who are entitled to some benefits,
even though they are working full time. These
people should investigate to find out under what
circumstances they may be able to collect a portion
of their old-age benefits. There are also thousands
of American workers over 72 years of age who are
still employed and haven't applied for Social Secur
ity. Citizens 72 or over can collect their full Social
Security checks regardless of the amount they are
earning from their employment.
overnment officials are going all out to publicize
the changes in the Social Security program
so that every eligible citizen may claim his full
benefits. The agency has enlisted the aid of hun
dreds of thousands of funeral directors, clergymen,
doctors, hospital staff members, and union and com
pany personnel officials to make sure that everyone
is informed of his Social Security rights when a
family emergency or retirement comes along.
Yet many potential beneficiaries still are in the
dark, and the Social Security agency, which has
almost 100 million files in its records, can't afford
to look up these people individually. So it's up to
you to keep posted on what you can expect from
Social Security and to apply for it when the proper
time comes.
For example, you should know that if your 65th
birthday falls in 1971 or later, you will need to have
worked at least 10 years under Social Security in
order to become eligible for benefits. If you reach
65 before 1971, the number of years you must have
contributed to the program ranges from four years
in 1959 to nine a decade later.
You should be aware that all Social Security
benefits are tax-free; that funeral expenses up to
$255 can be collected for a worker covered by the
program, but the money must be applied for within
two years after the death of the worker. And you
should know that Social Security never arrives
automatically the first time; it must be applied for.
(Increases in payments for present beneficiaries,
however, will be automatic.)
A safe maxim to follow in your Social Security
program is: "When in doubt, ask." There are more
than 500 Social Security branch offices in cities
throughout the United States, plus some 3,000 addi
tional contact points in smaller towns and rural
areas. If you have a question about Social Security,
look in your local telephone book for the Social
Security office, listed under: "United States Govern
ment, Dept. of Health, Education, and Welfare." If
you can find no listing in your town or neighboring
communities, inquire at your local post office.
Under the new Social Security law, a retired
couple where the breadwinner earned the maxi
mum average income of $4,800 or more will be
immediately entitled to a monthly income of $174
from Social Security alone. (Although the maximum
benefit under such circumstances is listed as $190.50,
it will be impossible to attain this figure for many
years because the earlier taxes, based on income
maximums of $3,600 and $4,200, must be included
in present computations.)
Other benefits from the Social Security program
are commensurate with these increased old-age
payments. You have made the program possible by
your contributions. You owe it to yourself and your
family to find out where, how, and when you can
expect a return on this investment.
Family Weekly, November 23, 195 9