Milford chronicle., 1960-01-01
Social Security Taxes
Due To Go Up Today
January I
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program in 1889, moving up the
first payments to 1910 and pro-
viding benefits for members of
families of retired or deceased
workers.
Further major alterations were
voted successfully in 1850, 1852,
1854, 1856 and 1858, all election
years.
More changes may be in store
in 1860, also an election year. Pro-
posals under consideration center
on medical care for the aging,
rather than cash benefits.
The broad program now in effect
is estimated to provide $10,200,-
100000 in cash benefits during 1869
to more than 13,500,000 benefici-
aries. That compares with $35, Co.,
600 paid in 1910, the first year
benefits were payable.
The special social security tax
to finance the program became
effective January 1, 1897 That
year the tax receipts amounted to
$514, 100000. For 1859, they are
estimated at $4,000, 900, 900, includ-
ing those that finance disability
benefits set up by 1856 changes in
the law.
Through the years the tax re-
ceipts in excess of current expen-
ditures have been deposited in spe-
cial trust funds at interest. These
receipts and the interest finance
the program including administra-
tive costs. The huge financial op-
Grafton is not included in the
Governments budget.
Payments to survivors and the
retired have exceeded taxes coll
lected for that purpose for a couple
of years, but next Fridays increase
is expected to more than restore
the balance over the next three
years.
Under the law, there will be fur
ther tax increases of one-half per
cent each on employees and en-
plOyer every three years through
1869, when the rate will be Az
per cent on worker and employers
every three years per cent. SINH
larly, the rate on the self-employed
will go up three-fourths per cent
every three years to level of 6%
per cent.
The trust fund for Old-Age and
Survivors Insurance, the major
program of the nine involved in
the social security law stood at
$23, ,028, ,877, ,9O4 on June 80, 1857. BY
last Sept. 80, it had been reduced
to $20,8S0,7S9,00O.
The fund to finance cash bene-
fits to disabled workers so years or
older and their dependents has
been increasing since its establish
ment in 1856, and stood at $1,792,-
0S8,00O Sept. 80.
AS the tax bite has increased,
benefits have also increased, addi-
tional groups of workers have been
covered and additional dependents
have been made eligible for bene-
fits.
One result is that a worker who
retired in 1910 at SIS on the then
minimum benefit of $40 a month,
can now draw $33 month, even
though he earned no further wage
credits since 1910.
The maximum monthly benefit
fixed by law for 1910 was $41.2O.
Now, the maximum for persons on
the rolls last January is $116, and
the maximum for persons retiring
in the future is $127.
From no provision under the
original law for workers family,
the program has been altered un-
til a maximum of 1854 monthly
may now be paid to family men,
berS.
In the beginning a woman work.
er was entitled. to cash benefits
only on retirement at IS or older.
Now, a woman can retire at g.
with a benefit slightly less than
she would receive If she worked
until IS.
Widows of deceased workers are
entitled to full benefits at So. Wives
of retired covered workers are
eligible for reduced benefits at 81.
A wife or widow is entitled to
benefits at any age if she is caring
for a child getting benefits based
on the retired or deceased work
er's social security account.
There was no original provision
for benefits for children, either. |
Eligible now are unmarried chill
dren under Is, or those who were |
disabled before they reached that
age.
Dependent parents may also
qualify for survivor benefits when |
the father is IS and the mother |
So or older.
Under the original program the
tax rate was 1 per cent on the |
first $4,000 of annual earnings, ap-
plying to both employees and en-
ployers. The rate began to move |
upward in 1850, becoming 11s per
cent on the first $4,000. The taxable
base was increased to $4,000 in |
1851. Further increases in the rate,
DR. expansions of the taxable base
became effective in 1854, 1856, 1857 |
and 1859.
The original program was esti-
mated to apply initially to 29,OOO,-
300 workers. BY the end of the
first year of the issuance of social |
security cards in 1897, $4,000 900 |
persons, or So per cent of the
work force, had obtained them.
The present estimate is that
59,00O,000 workers are paying So
cial security taxes in any one
month of the year; in a year, up
to 75,000,000 workers and employers
pay some amount of such taxes.
The 100000 is figured to be 81
per cent of the work force.
That means nearly nine of ten
workers are covered by the pro-
gram.