Evening star., 1940-06-12
0|d-Age Insurance
Studied 10 Meet
Wartime Conditions
Report on Changes
If u. S. Enters Conflict
To Go to President
BY j. A. FOX.

Faced with the virtual certainty
that the old-age insurance provisions
of the Social Security Act will have
to be rewritten if this country goes
to war and thousands Of men-and
women-are taken from gainful en-
ployment for military and naval
service, officials of the Federal Sc
curity Agency and the Social Sc
curity Board are studying the posi-
bilitieS that might flow from such a
development for the purpose of
shaping a program to meet the new
conditions.
The inquiry, it was said today, was
undertaken after the President had
emphasized in his fireside chat on
national defense that he wanted to
see the social gains OF his adminis-
tration preserved unuer any circum-
stances, but without any direct
orders from the White House. Com
prehensive actuarial studies will be
the basis of the delibei ations, and it
Is expected that a report will be
ready for the President in about two
months
officials said that present bene-
ficiaries of the insurance program
will not be disturbed, and the study
will be directed toward protecting
the potential penefciaries.
35,000,000 Adding Credits.
Since the old-age insurance plan
went into effect on January l, 1887,
$4,000 900 workers have been enrolled
under its provisions and approXi-
mately 35.000,000 of these are cur
rentIv in employment in which they
are building up credits for future
payments.
Under the revised program which
started last January l, more than
$4,000 persons are receiving benefits
and their number is increasing at the
rate of about $4,000 a month. The
last report of the Social Security
Board-for April-gave breakdown
of beneficiares as follows: Retired
workers, 38915; aged wives of retired
workers, 6.307; children, 12,185; aged
widows, 1896, and widows with young
children, 4,561.
Elderly eligibles hardly would con-
unaffected by any marshaling of the
Nations manpower, but the young
workers would pose a number Of
questions.
The old-age and survivors inSur-
ance-the latter goes to widows and
children-is financed on a tax of
per cent on wages up to $4,000
annually that is borne equally by
employer and employe. Eventually
this tax reaches 3 per cent each,
and it is by these payments that
the wage Garner increases his own
retirement allotment and qualities
his dependents for one of the other
types of benefit.
Would Protect Farmers.
The problem therefore confronting
social security officials is to deter
mine just how this eligibility is to
be preserved when wage earners are
taken from covered employment
and brought into military service.
No definite ideas along this line
have crystallized yet, it was said,
but there is feeling that wage
earners should not be penalized in
any way.
OF the several programs under the
Social Security Act, only that deal
ing with insurance would be likely
to be disrupted by war. as it is
the only one toward which partici-
pants make a direct contribution.
The Railroad Retirement Act is
financed Jointly by the carriers and
their employees, but that has only
the retirement feature, and railroad
employees, as class, would hardly
be brought into military service
because they would be needed on
the roads themselves.