Milford chronicle., 1958-12-19
Social Security
Questions & Answers

Question
Why doesn't social security pay
benedt big enough to provide for
just the necessities. / can scrape
by on my benefits, but I have TO
count the pennies carefully.
Answer
] could use a lot of (time)
(space) in answering that question
fully, because it involves so many
things. Briefly, the entire system
was established and has grown on
the premise that benefits will only
partially replace earnings lost by
reason of retirement, disability or
death. Social security does not at
tempt to provide complete financial
security by itself, that is the re-
sponsibiIity Of the individual and a
number of our great American in
stitutions, of which social security
is but one-all attacking the prob
lem Of financial insecurity in a diff
ferent way.
A question that has puzzled me
is this: How is it humanity possible
to keep all those records of earn
ings that you use for figuring how
much a persons social security
benefit will be?
Answer
While it would be humanity pos
sible to do it, it certainly wouldn't
be feasible. The huge task of main
tanning wage records has been re-
duced to manageable proportions
by the use of accounting machines,
microfilming electronics and so on.
Our record keeping officials simply
apply all the latest scientific achiey-
ements in their efforts to do the
job better, faster, and more eco
nomically. They are continually
working with people. both in and
out of government, to perfect the
machines and techniques used in
our record keeping process.
Question
] have been working under social
security for four years. Is there
any way / can find out if all my
earnings are in fact recorded un-
der my name and number?
Answer
Yes indeed there is. Your social
security office can furnish you with
a postcard form numbered 1904 and
entitled Wage Statement Request"
Fill it out, put a stamp on it and
drop it in the mail box Within a
few days you will receive conf
Dental report of the amount Of
earnings credited to your account.
While you have the right to get a
statement once year, one every
three years is sufficient to fully
protect your account.
Question
Ny father, se1f-employed gro
Ger for long time, is now 73 years
old and still working and making
enough to get by on. He is reIuc-
tant to claim social security be-
cause he doesn't actually need it.
How can I conySace him he should
file for benefits?
Answer
His right to a monthly benefit is
clearly set forth in the social Sc
curity law. The withholding of
benefits because of annual
earnings in excess of $1,000 applies
only to months in which a person
is under the age of 72. Your father
has met both the age and work re-
quirements and the benefits are his
for the asking There is no needs
test under Federal Old-Age and
Survivors Insurance, so that the
matter of his needing or not need
ing the social security benefit is, in
legal terms, irrelevant and imma-
terial." -
Question
| am planning financial pro-
gram for myself and family. How
can determine what social secur-
ity benefits are payable and to
whom they will De paid?
Answer
We have at our Office an inter-
esting and Informative booklet en-
titled How to Estimate Your So
cial Security Payments" It ex-
plains who gets benefits, how long
you have to work, and how to esti-
mate the amount of your payments.
Just ask for Booklet OASI-30. It
packs lot of useful information
within its 16 pages.