Fraternity-Testvériség, 1958 (36. évfolyam, 1-11. szám)
1958-08-01 / 8. szám
FRATERNITY 17 PROBLEMS ABOUT SOCIAL SECURITY Question: I worked under social security from the time it started until September 1945 when I went to work for a railroad. If I continue working for the railroad until I am 65, will I receive a social security check and my railroad pension check too? If not, what happens to the social security money I have paid in? Answer: Based on the information above, you have 35 quarters of coverage under social security. If you will be 65 on or before December 31, 1968, you will be eligible for social security benefits in addition to your railroad retirement. If you will not be 65 until after that date, your social security wages will be added to your railroad wages and your retirement based on the combination of these wages. To answer the question generally, if you have worked long enough to qualify under social security, depending upon your date of birth, you can receive both a social security and a railroad retirement check. If you have not worked long enough under social security, but do become eligible for railroad retirement, social security wages are added to your railroad wages. If you have worked under both systems, but have not worked long enough under the railroad to qualify for their retirement, your railroad wage added to your social security wages may make you eligible for social security benefits. Question: My daughter and I are getting survivors pensions. I understand hers will stop when she is 18 years old. Will mine continue if I am working? Answer: Yours will stop until you reach 62, regardless of whether you are working. When you reach 62 you may earn up to $1200 per year without losing any benefits. Question: My husband is a railroad worker. He has been told that if he would pay his social security that he would receive social security benefits in addition to his railroad pension. Is this true? Answer: If your husband works under both railroad retirement and social security he could receive benefits from both systems. He cannot pay into social security without working under it, however. Question: I was born in January 1900 and started to work on September 15, 1954. If I stop working six months from now I would like to know how much longer I would have to work to receive benefits. Answer: To be eligible for retirement benefits you would need 22 quarters of coverage, of which you would presumably earn 15 between September 1954 and March 1958. You would then need to earn 7 more, which would require about 21 months additional work. Question: I paid into social security from 1936 until 1940, when I went to work for the government. I wrote the Social Security Board in Baltimore and they said I did not have enough points. Does that mean at 65 I won’t draw anything from that source? If so, what becomes of the money I paid in? Answer: You will not be eligible for any benefits at 65 unless you earn the additional quarters of coverage needed to give you an insured status. If you never do so, your contributions remain in the fund. There is no refund provision under social security.
