The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1939-02-24
OLD AGE INSURANCE

@. am employed In the snip
ping department of Q wholesale
grocery company. Two years ago !
was advised to get social security
account card. However, it was not
convenient for me to do SO at the
time, and have never obtained an
account number. Why do I have to
have social security account NUM-
Der? What good will it do me? What
will happen If l never get social
security card?
A. Failure to obtain social Sec
urity account number might mean
that in your old age you would fail
to receive benefits which otherwise
you would claim. If your employer
is complying with the law, he is now
deducting one percent wage tax
from your pay. Your employer pays
an additional one percent tax on
your wages; and every three months
he sends your wage tax to the Gov
eminent with his own pay roll tax.
If you are paying the tax, why not
assure for yourself the benefits? The
chances are that nearly every one Of
your fellow workers has a SOCIAL
security account number. When your
employer makes his quarterly tax
return he should include the name,
account number and amount of
wages he paid each employee (under
age $50. When that wage informa-
ton reaches the Social Security
Board, it is entered ON the books,
in somewhat the same way that
bank deposits are entered on bank
depositors' books. In the Records
Division of the Social Security
Board there are now about IS mill
lion individual wage records. Each
account bears the same number that
is shown on the workers social Sec
urity card. That is how individ-
ual wage records are ident-
flied. Unless you have social Sec
urity account number, your wage
record will not be found in the files
of the Social Security Board. Each
one of your fellow workers who has
a social security account number.
will be credited, year after year,
with his own wage earnings, and fin
ally he will receive old-age insur-
ance payments that are based on
his wage record. 1t is not too late
to secure credit for the taxable
wages you were paid during 1897
and 1898; but first you will have to
obtain social security account
number. Then ask your employer to
furnish the Social Security Board
field offices with q statement of your
wage-earnings since 1886. After
that, you will be given credit for all
taxable wages paid you since 1886.
@. have been working in fac
tory ever since the old-age insur-
ance law went into effect. under
stand that the wages paid to me in
the past two years have been credit
ed to my insurance account, which
is kept for me by the Social Secur-
ity Board. Is there any way in which
can find out the exact amount of
earnings shown on my wage record?
A. Yes. ALI you have to do Is to
ask for statement. Any field Office
of the Social Security Board will
give or send you a postcard form
on which you may write your re-
quest for statement of your wages.
You may write, phone, or call at
the Baltimore Office of the Board,
100 Hopkins Place, and secure. free
of charge, one of these postcards.
Be sure to include your social sec
urity account number in filing out
the card. Before mailing, place
one cent stamp ON the postcard. You
will promptly receive from the Gov
eminent, a statement of all the
wages you earned in the factory, as
shown by your employers report
for 1887. Later in the year, you can
get another statement showing
wages paid you during 1888 in COW
cred employment.