The Wrangell sentinel. (Wrangell, Alaska) 1909-current, 1940-03-08

Jobs covered by the act in at least
half of the calender quarters after
January L, 1897 with minimum
wages of $50 in each quarter. or if
there Is no widow or child, the de-
pendent parents of such worker
when they reach So.
The terms used here are relatively
simple. A calendar quarter is a per
iod of 8 calendar months Thus, Jan
uary, February and March make up
the first quarter of the year and APP
Ri, May and June the second quar-
ter and so on.
A worker can get credit for a
quarter of employment by earning
$50 from a job covered by the law.
A woman worker, for example, is
employed by a store for 1 or 2 days
week and makes $50 a month
which would be $50 per quarter
This would meet the requirement
Or Another person, working irreg-
ularly, make $40 in January work
ing in a garage and in February
makes $50 for a few days work on
a construction job. This would also
satisfy the requirement of $50 in
earnings from covered employment
in that quarter.
Benefits will be based on the
workers average monthly wage. IT,
for example, he is SIS on January
and has worked 8 years-1937, 1888
and 1939-at jobs covered by the
law and earned 500 per month, he
may, if he chooses to retire, receive
monthly payment of s25.75. If he
has a wife SIS years old, a benefit
of one-half that amount, or $12.88,
will be paid to her A benefit of
/ Sass would also be paid if this
retiring worker had a child not yet
| 16 years old, or IS, if regularly at
/ tending school.
If the average wage in the above
case had been $3.50 per month, the
worker would have received $1,000
per month and the aged wife or mi
nor child one-half of that amount,
or $1545.
If a worker reaches the age of 65,
/ but does not have the required
amount of work and earnings to
qualify for the monthly payment, he
can make up the requirement by
working beyond the age of SIS. This
is an important provision of the
amended law Under the original
act a worker was not under the law
after his 65th birthday. At that
time he could get a lump-sum set
Element amounting to 81 percent
of his wages from covered employ
ment between January I, 1897 and
date of reaching 65.
After the payment of this lump
sum, the workers account was
closed. But under the recent amend
ments the Social Security Board can
now reopen these accounts and pay
a monthly benefit if the worker has
had calendar quarters of employ
ment and earnings of at least $50 in
each quarter. IN the Territory of Al
aska there are more than fifty work
ers who received these cash settle
ments. They have been notified of
the changes in the law.
A person may continue working
beyond age IS and file his claim for
monthly benefits at any later time.
If his earnings continue at the same
general average as in the past, he
will receive an increase of 1 percent
of his monthly check for each year
in which he earns 5000 or more from
jobs covered by the law.
Survivors benefits will be special
ly important to the families of
workers who die after December 81.
If man, for example, has been
making an average of $3.50 per
month for the past years and dies
during January leaving wife and
two children who are and years
of age, monthly payments of $54,08
will be paid to this family group.
OF the above amount, the widow
will receive $23.18 per month and
each child S15.45 per month. If his
average wage had been 500 per
month, the total payments to his
survivors would have been $45.06.
Larger benefits would be paid on the
basis of higher monthly wages and
smaller benefits if the wage had
been less
The new provisions of the Social
/ Security Act look toward family Sc
curity rather than individual old
age security Benefits to family sur
vivors, and to the workers depen-
dent wives and children will be