The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1940-03-14
Information On
Social Security

two years earlier than scheduled in
the Social Security Act in 1885. In
the amended act, provision is made
for the payment of monthly benefits to
the workers wife if she is 65 years
of wage or over, and to children un-
der Is. Provision is also made for
insurance protection to survivors
widows over 65, widows of any age
caring for children under Is, depen-
dent orphans, or under certain condi-
tions, to dependent parents.
The staff of the Youngstown field
office of the Social Security Board
spent considerable part Of the last
quarter of 1889 in getting ready for
the handling of claims. Similar pre-
paratory work has been done in the
more than 400 field Offices that have
been opened throughout the United
States.
The field personnel of the Board has
already had considerable claims hand
ling experience. Since the establish
ment of the old-age insurance system
on January l, 1887, the men in the
field have developed and forwarded to
Washington for certifcation approxi-
mately 100000 claims. Prior to Janu-
ary l, these claims, however, were for
lump sums payable under the original
law to workers reaching the age of
65 without having had an opportunity
to qualify for regular monthly pay
ments, and to the heirs of those who
had died.
Under the revised law, lump-sum
claims of this type are not to be paid
in the future except where death oc-
cured prior to January 1, 1910. In
stead, wage earners already 65 and
those approaching that age will have
the opportunity to qualify for monthly
payments. The amendments to the
" 1885 law making possible the payment
of benefits to members of a workers
family place upon the Boards field
staff the responsibility of handling
, many more claims per year than in
. the preceding three years. Included
will be those filed by aged wives, wild
ows, dependent children and even de-
! pendent parents 1t has been estimated
, that the total number of persons re-
, ceiving benefits by the end of the year
may be nearly million.
2 TO meet the need of the American
} people for a minimum basic security,
: Congress, in August, 1889, liberalized
e the old-age insurance provisions of
!, the Social Security Board and of the
c Advisory Council on Social Security
Indicative of the broadened scope of
e these provisions is the change made in
{ the name-from "old-age insurance
benefits" to foliage and survivors in
, surance benefits" And a considerable
part of ths~ att-snt is now placed on
}, the word Survivors" 1t is expected
that about half of the claims that will
be presented this year will be for
monthly benefits for widows, children
and dependent parents of wage earn
ers who died and for lump-sum bene-
fits.
Of particular interest to insured
wage earners and members of their
families is that change in the law max
ing it possible for men and women
65 years old or approaching that age
to participate in this Federal insur-
ance program on greatly liberalized
basis. For instance, man more than
65 years of age may qualify for
, monthly retirement benefits for life by
| working, roughly a year and half
in jobs covered by the system. If his
| wife is 65 also or older, she may re-
ceive monthly benefit equal to one
half of that of her husband although
she has never worked day in covered
employment.
AS an illustration, let us take man
| who was past 65 when the act became
effective in 1887 Neither he nor his
dependents could have received any
benefits under the original old-age in
surance program. Now, because COW
erage of persons over 65 is retroactive
to January /, 1889, he could qualify
for monthly benefits in the second
quarter of 1910 and his wife or de-
pendent children under 1S could re-
ceive monthly benefits as well.
If he had an average monthly wage
Of $780, he would draw $3.50 a month
upon retirement; his wife would get
half as much when she is 65; and, if
he died, his wife's benefit would be
stepped up to three -fourths of what
his had been.
If young man should die in 1910
after working three years in covered
employment at 500 a month, and
should leave wife and two young
children, that family could receive
monthly benefits of $4506.
A workers monthly insurance bene-
fit is figured on the following formula {:
take 40 per cent Of the first $50 of the
average monthly wage plus 10 per cent
of the next 5000 of average monthly
wage; add 1 per cent Of this basic
amount for each year in which the in
dividual received wages of $2C0 or
more
! The new old-age and survivors in
surance program consists Of seven
types of benefits, all but one payable
monthly.
i All benefits are based on the in