Montana labor news., 1939-11-02
FEDERAL 0LD-AGE AND
SURVIVORS,

". llOW W Tie IGOGldlQ OlQ-FABC
Insurance amendments affect work.
ers now already IS or approaching
that age?
A. Through certain changes in the
law, older workers now have an
opportunity to get monthly bene-
fits, whereas under the original law
no one who became 65 before 1941
could qualify for monthly payments.
instead they received lump-sum pay
ments equal to 81 per cent of their
total wages. n most cases these old
er workers will get much more un-
der the new program than they
would have received before.
Q. What are these changes?
A. First, the requirements for re-
ceiving monthly benefits have been
lowered for those retiring in the
early years. Second, the provision
which excluded wages earned after
IS from counting toward benefits
has been removed; this change is
made effective as of January l, 1889.
@. What are the requirements for
receiving monthly benefits begin
ming in January, 1910?
A. To receive such benefits as
soon as they become payable next
year, a worker must have reached
IS and retired; he must have been
employed in work covered by the
system for six calendar quarters
after 1886, and in each Of these quar-
tiers his covered wages must have
come to at least $50.
@. Will the Social Security Board
continue to authorize the payment
of lump sums to workers reaching
the age Of IS?
A.. No. The payment of lump sums
of this nature stopped when the
amendments were signed. With the
removal of the "stop-date" at age
65, all workers in covered employ
ment, regardless of age, now have
an opportunity to build up enough
wage credits to qualify for monthly
retirement benefits. Many who
would have received a lump sum
under the act before it was changed
can qualify under the amendments
for monthly benefits beginning Jan
uary l, 1910, provided they retire
from covered employment, on the
basis Of the wages they have earned
under the program since 1886.
@. Take the case of a man who
has been earning SIS a month regu-
larly since 1886. He will be IS on
December 81, 1889. What would he
have received under the old plan
and what will he get under the
amendments?
A. If the act had not been changed,
he could have received only a lump
sum of 315 per cent of his total
wages of $2,700, or $94.50. Under
the amended program he can get
$23.17 a month for the rest of his
life, beginning with January l, 1910,
provided he retires on reaching IS;
in addition, if his wife is IS she will
receive $11.58 a month, making a
monthly total of STATS.
@. If a man working throughout
1887 reached IS in January, 1898,
and received a lump-sum payment
but kept on working at SIS a month,
could he qualify for benefits under
the amendments?
A.. Yes. Wages earned in covered
employment after December 81, 1886,
and before a person became IS now
counts towards old-age monthly
benefits, regardless of the payment
of a lump sum. After January l,
1899, employment after age 65 also
counts toward benefits. Although
the worker in the case cited would
not get credit for the wages he
earned during the year between his
65th birthday and January l, 1899,
he would still have enough wage
credits to get a monthly benefit jan
uary l, 1910, provided he retired.
@. In the event that a man who
has received a lump-sum payment
qualities for monthly benefits, what
adjustment will be made with re-
spect to the money already paid
him?
A. The amount of the lump-sum