The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1951-03-15
information On
SocioI Security
WHAT MR.. & MRS. SHOULD
KNOW ABOUT SOCIAL
SECURITY
(Second of three articles)
BY SIDNEY MARGOLIUS
For Labor Press Association

III UIllS series, WdS6-edTIleTS some
times fail to take full advantage
of old-age pension rights.
Tragically, the surviving families
of deceased wage-earners some
times also fail to get their right
ful payments. Actually, each year
almost million Social Security
pensions go unclaimed, and many
times it's the woman of the family
who doesn't act soon enough to
secure for herself and children her
full benefits.
Many people still don't realize
that Social Security provides not
only old-age pensions but insurance
payments for the family in case
the husband dies. One labor press
editor, Gordon Cole, of The Ma
chinist), estimates these insurance
payments are worth $4,000 of pri-
vate insurance. heck of a lot
more than most wage-eamers can
afford to carry privately.
How to Figure Your Benefits
All payments are based on the
wage-earner's primary benefit
what he himself would get each
month upon retirement at 65 or
thereafter. The workers own mon
thly old-age benefit would be so
per cent of the first 500 of his
average monthly pay after 1850
plus Is percent of the balance up
to 5000. (Only wages up to $4,000
year are counted.) Say a man
averaged $3.50 a month in covered
employment after 1850. On retire
ment he himself would get $72.50 a
month. When his wife reached 65,
she can get pension equal to half
his; in this case, $36.25. If the hus-
band dies before the wife, her pen
sion is increased to three-fourths
the amount he got. If the wife has
dependent children in her care
when the husband retires, she and
her children both get pensions even
if she is not yet 65. (These stop
when the last child reaches 18, and
the wife's pension resumes at 65.)
If covered worker dies, the
family also gets benefits, even if
he had not reached SIS. If the widow
has dependent children under 49,,
she gets a monthly pension of
thfee-fourths of her husbands pri-
mary benefit (until the last child
Reaches 18 or is no longer depend
ent.) In addition, the oldest child
gets three-fourths of the primary
benefit and each additional child
one-half. The total the family could
receive is limited to $3.50 month,
or 80 per cent of the workers aver
age wage with a minimum of $40)
whichever is less.
In the case of our example of a
man who averaged $3.50 month
in covered employment, and died
leaving two dependent children, the
family would get $145 month.
If the widow remarries she loses
her pension but those of her de-
pendent children by the deceased
wage-earner continue.
As pointed out in the first
article, anyone drawing Social Sc
curity payments loses them if he or
she earns more than $50 in jobs or
self-employment covered by Social
Security. But note this: each mem
Der of family drawing survivors
payments may earn up to $50 a
month, or 5000 a year in self-em-
ployment. The family may also
have any amount of income from
rental of property, private insur-
ance policies, personal savings, etc.
Also, even though the widow
loses her pension by earning more
than the limit, the kids continue to
get theirs. And if the widow loses
her job, she can re-apply for her
pension and collect it even between
jobs, or even while drawing unem-
ployment compensation, just as
can a man over 65 who's still work
ing. Similarly, an older child who
works during the summer, for ex-
ample, loses his pension if he|
makes more than that $50 month,
but can have the payments rein
stated when he quits to return to
school.
The formula described above for
figuring the primary benefit went
into effect Jan. l but worker
needs six quarters of covered en-
after 1860 to use it. Peo-
pie who qualify for benefits before
will have them calculated
under the old system, which would
make the payments little lower.
Whether or not she's entitled to|
payments, any wife can|
collect a lump sum death payment
of three times the husbands pri-|
mary benefit (if there's no widow,
whoever pays the funeral bill isl
entitled to this benefit).
If the wage-earner leaves no de-
pendent wife or child Tor husband
in the case of a woman worker),
parents 65 or older are|
entitled to survivors payments.
But what the family must re-
member is that it must apply for
any benefits to which it's legally
Here's a good rule:
There are two vital times to go|