The journal. (Caldwell, Ohio) 1934-1961, 1954-09-30
KNOW YOUR
SOCIAL. SECURITY
Changes In Your Social Security
BY Robert b. YOumanS
Manager of the GAINESVILLE
Social Security Office

OOCldl security OIAAce
I'll be receiving thousands of
questions about social security
because of the 1854 Amendment
to the Social Security Act, signed.
Sept. l by President Eisenhower.
However, I'm afraid many people
with questions won't visit our Of
flee, SO | am going to answer
some of these unasked questions
in this series of articles.
1t is difficult to realize that
so many people know so little
about something that is as i'm
portant to them as their social
security. But ! find that this is
true in many cases. Common
sense tells us the Importance of
translating the technicalities of
the social security law and its
changes into the thought and
life of the American people. l
feel that this is my duty as your
social security representative.
In this series of articles on the
old-age and survivors insurance
program, I shall describe the re-
cent changes in the social secur-
ity law as they will directly
affect each and every one of US.
| do this with the sincere hope
that you will gain a more COM
plete understanding of your
social security and its effects on
your and your family.
When Congress proposed and
enacted the new amendments, it
did so with its main view towards
bringing social security insur-
ance benefits better in line with
current earnings levels and liv-
ing costs. And just as important
are. the parts Of the law which
extend the coverage of social
security to more people, and in
this way make benefits available
to more workers in their retire
ment and to their families when
they die.
To accomplish this end, the
changes in the law had to have
two detectives. First, social sec
urity protection had to be ex-
tended to more type of jobs so
that a greater number of people
could participate and through
their contributions qualify for
social security benefits. This was
written into the new law, and
now nearly nine out of ten work
ers are included under the pro-
gram And of about 63 million
jobs in the nation and abroad,
over SIS million are now covered
by social security.
The second objective was that
of giving increased benefits to
those already receiving old-age
and survivors insurance pay
ments as we'll as to those who
will be getting them in the fut-
ure Three important points un-
der the increased benefits are the
increase in the amount of wages
which VIII be counted for social
security purposes; a drop-Out of
low or no earnings years and a
revised formula for computing
benefit amounts. Another impor-
tant provision in the new law is
the protection of insured status
and benefit amounts for those
vino are totally disabled.
This may be a good place to
point out that old-age and sur
Vivors benefits are payable only
to persons who have worked for
a specified length of time in en-
ployment or self-employment
covered by social security and
to the qualified dependents of
such workers. Social Security
benefits are paid out of a trust
fund built up entirely from the
contributions of covered en-
ployees and their employers and
of covered self-employed persons
plus accumulated interest. Thus
the financing of the system is
completely self-supporting.
In this article l have sketched
the full scope of the social sec
urity law as a huge picture. Tom
orrow I shall paint small por-
trait of just one phase of the new
amendments to the law.