Evening star., 1936-11-25
SECURITY BLANKS
ARE MOVING BACK
Local Applications Are Re.
turnabIe by December 5.
Staff Starts Work.

Twenty-six million wage earners
In America we're enrolling today for
old-age benefits under the social Sc
curity act.
A last-minute check with regional
ofices, it was said by John G. Win
ant. chairman Of the Social Security
Board. showed that the registration
OF workers, which started yesterday,
had gotten away to a good start. The
applications, delivered by the local
post Offices, are returnable by Decem-
Der 5. and in many instances they
already were beginning to trickle back.
In Washington, one of the 1,072
postal centers clearing the applica-
tions for post Offices, IN their regions
between workers and the Social Sc
curity Board, Postmaster Vincent c.
Burke started his emergency staff to
work. These centers will forward
Identification cards bearing an ac-
count number to each wage-earner
Ming, and will dispatch the COM
pleted applications to the records di-
, vision the Board is establishing in
Baltimore.
81 Offices Being Set Up.
Concurrently, the board announced
that 81 new regional offices are being
established as contact agencies for
handling old-age benefit matters.
These offices, one of which will be
located in Washington, will bring the
total number of such establishments
Exclusive of the IL regional offices
to 108, and are expected to be
permanent part of the social security
administrative machinery. They will
be started in operation by Decem-
Der Is.
! The site Of the local Office still is to
be selected.
At a crowded press conference yes
terday afternoon. Chairman Winant
commented on the possibility of Ger
tain revisions in the act being sug-
gested to Congress, but said nothing
definite had been worked out. One of
these had to do with the huge reserve
fund that will be set up under the act
and which critics say is unsound eco
nomically.
Another Is the multiple tax problem,
arising from the fact that an indi-
vidual on more than one pay roll pays
on the first $4,000 he receives from
each employer. In this connection,
however, Winant pointed out that ben
efits, becoming payable on January !,
1912, are increased accordingly.
10 Jobs at 5000.
A pertinent example of this was dis
closed by a man who told the board he
got $4,000 a year as technical adviser
to 10 textile corporations and that he
figured his wage account" when he
reached IS would total 100000. He
, wanted to know how much taxes he
would pay and how much he would
get in return.
A member OF the legal staff ex-
planned the taxes would apply to each
of the ten s3,000-a-year salaries at
per cent or for a $500 total next year
and increasing to three per cent or a
5000 total in 1949.
The maximum pension is $85 a
month, he was told. but his estate
would be paid 31a per cent Of the
5000. 900, less what he had collected
In pensions.
. If he lived 10 months after IS and
had collected $3.50 in pensions. his
estate would get Federal check for
S3l, 500, less the $3.50, or $3o,650.
May Need More Teeth"
Another item under consideration
Is whether the board will have to ask
for additional teeth in the act, to
force return of employer or. employe
applications. No trouble has been re-
ported along this line yet, and Winant
said he believed the board had i'm
piled power" under the act to re-
ouire this data. If not, 1t could be
asked. he said.
winant said that the board would
not ask for an extension of the dead
lire for States to enact unemployment
insurance statutes to qualify for par
ticipation in the tax which employers
everywhere must pay on their pay rolls
for this and succeeding years. Only
16 States thus far have come in. and
December 81 is the last day. Where
these local systems apply, the States
get 90 per cent of the taxes they other
wise would turn over to the Federal
Government. The District has its
UNEMPLOYMENT insurance law.