Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-02-20
SECURITY FOR YOU
Address
Important
For Benefits
BY RAY HENRY

George Haugen was a proud
and patient mar. And. it prob
ably cost him his life.
Last August, as Mr.. Haugen
had asked, his Social Security
check was mailed to general
delivery" at the Ogden, Utah
post Office.
He usually picked up his
check shortly after it arrived
He had to. He was SO, crippled
and needed the money to live
on.
But, for some reason, Mr.
Haugen didn't call for that
August check. After holding
it for several weeks, the post
Office sent it back to Social
Security.
1t wasn't until October that
Social Security heard from Mr..
Haugen again. He wrote from
Cheyenne. Wyo., gave his new
address and explained why he
hadn't called for his August
check in Ogden.
On November 3, his October
check was sent to Cheyenne
along with a letter telling him
how he could claim the other
check due him. Again. the
check was rturned to Social
Security unclaimed.
Found Frozen in Shack
Then. a few days before
Christmas. Haugen visited the
Ogden Social Security office
and asked about his missing
money. He filled out a form
claiming the back checks.
Friends, knowing Mr.. Hau-
gen had run out of money, Of
fered him some. He refused to
take it. When he couldn't pay
the rent on his hotel room, he
moved out.
His body was found January
rs in a crude shelter on the
bank Of a river. He had frozen
to death some two or three
weeks earlier in a bed of grass
and old newspapers.
At the Ogden post Office. a
check for four months Social
Security had been waiting for
him.
Although Mr.. Haugen's story
is the kind no one likes, there's
a lesson to be learned from it.
With little trouble, he could
have made sure his Social Sc
curity checks followed him
wherever he moved. Filling out
a change of address form at
the Ogden Office was all that
was necessary and there prob
ably would have been no check
delay.
That's about all that's re-
CURED OF anyone who moves.
But, if you're getting Social
Security and you move, you
should give as much advance
notice as possible of your new
address.
Advance Notice Helpful
Government checks aren't
supposed to be forwarded.
This, incidentally, is for your
protection so the check doesn't
get lost or stolen in being
shunted around the country.
Under normal circumstances,
if you give notice during the
first two weeks of the month
before YOU move, there'n be no
delay, You should notify your
local Social Security office or
the Office from which you get
your checks. You may do so
either by letter or with a spe-
cial change Of address postcard
which you can get at any Social
Security Office.
If, in moving. you miss pay
ments be sure to notify the
nearest Social Security office so
it can trace their whereabouts.
The sooner you do this, the
sooner you'll get the missing
checks.
Unless the check has been
stolen and forged, it usually
takes from two to three weeks
to replace a check which has
gone astray because of an i'm
proper address.
you may Urite Ray Henry
In care OF The Star about your
oton Social Security or retire.
ment problem. Please inclose
a stamped. Self-addressed en-
Uelope and rs cents in conn.,
Monday: Reporting woses poid to
domestic hello.