40 Herald - Lantern - Dispatch 14 August '85

V i ] S>s|||^JsaZL: j^ilest^n^s LiZ..' • President Roosevelt signed Social Security Act into law on August 14, 1935, authorizing old-age insurance benefits financed by a payroll tax on workers and their employers. Coverage limited to » workers in commerce and industry. • Social Security Act amended to provide benefits for dependents of retired workers and survivors of deceased workers. (1939) • Benefit levels increased substantially, reaffirming basic role of the program following a lengthy hiatus during World War II years, during which price inflation eroded the purchasing power of I benefits by over 75 percent and more and more people were forced to turn to needs-tested assistance. (1950) _r_ ; • Coverage extended to farm workers, the self-employed, some #5# and local government employees, members of the armed forces, and other major groups during the 1950's. • Disability insurance benefits authorized for disabled workers and their dependents, financed by a separate payroll tax. (In incremental steps, 1954-56. ) I • Medicare program of hospital and medical insurance approved for. the aged (1965) and for the long-term disabled ( 1972) . • Automatic cost-of-living adjustments in benefits and automatic adjustments in the maximum amount of covered earnings and earnings test exempt amounts provided. (1972). • Correction of "coupled" benefit formula that increased benefits faster than the rate of inflation and other improvements in program financing. (1977). • Resoration of financial soundness of system through enactment of balanced package of tax and : benefit changes after years of poor economic performance eroded trust fund reserves. (1983). i li

benefits since they began in January 1940 Included in this large figure W ™ ,_i j ^ I are the following beneficiary groups: H " vPy ^ • Retired workers nearly 46 million .B1---- . • I • Disabled workers nearly 10 million / -k SECUI ^ • Wives and husbands of retired workers about 12'/i million /"* I • Wives and husbands of disabled workers about 2'/i million • Children of retired workers over 5 million ^ • Children of deceased workers about 15 million • Children of disabled workers about 8 million l ItjK • Widowed mothers and fathers 3.8 million ^ 1 • Widows and widowers nearly 117: million _ , , , 1 • Special ( Prouty) Age 72 Beneficiaries 1.3 million | 'j&rtM ^ These figures should be qualified. For Example, when a disabled -jH) *rfU '5/!5wl worker beneficiary turns 65. the benefits are automatically converted to i Jf ' retirement benefits. Many people getting spouse's or survivor's benefits C, ■ £ J also are entitled to benefits on their own work records. \ Jt If IFDRMm The number of people on the current rolls is expected to reach 37 — / I million shortly after our 50th birthday The annual number awarded benefits has ranged from a low of 255,000 in 1940 to a high of 4,722,000 in 1M: ^ 1866. In the latter year, manv people 65 and over who were still working . / filed for Social Security to become eligible for Medicare. In 1984, 3.7 ^B million people were added to the beneficiary rolls. ] H l\ About one out of seven Americans draws benefits right now. About 95 im*c* ^ percent of the people reaching age 65 are eligible for monthly cash , -J V ^ \ benefits Similarly. 95 percent of children under age 18 would be paid " I monthly benefits if a family worker dies.