The Key West Citizen

WASHINGTON (New Year's Day brings a new look to the nation's vast program of retirement benefits for the aged and of death benefits to widows and surviving children of wage earners.

Sooner or later, this new look—embodied in amendments to the social security law taking effect Jan. 1—will affect the pocketbooks of more than 9 out of 10 Americans. It virtually fulfills the long time dream of social security planners—retirement income for everybody.

The new law brings up to 10½ million persons under the Old Age and Survivors Insurance system for the first time—farm operators, farm laborers, domestic workers and self-employed architects, engineers, accountants and funeral directors on a compulsory basis; state and local government employees and clergymen on an optional basis. After 18 months' coverage, many of these will be eligible for benefits for the first time.

The new law also increases benefits for everyone in the system (some increases took effect in October), increases taxes for some, and provides new advantages for millions of disabled workers and for other millions who want to continue some work and still draw retirement benefits.

About 3,600,000 farm operators—people farming for themselves—are covered for the first time. To qualify, they must make as much as $1 profit a year. They must report on their income and pay a 3 per cent social security tax on earnings up to $4,200 a year. Their first new social security returns will be due with income tax returns on 1955 earnings, filed early in 1956.

Farm operators get a number of special privileges. If their total income (receipts) for the year is below $1,800, they don't have to figure their net income, or actual profit or earnings. They can arbitrarily report half their gross income as their net. Or they can figure their net if they choose to do so.

If their total income is above $1,800, they have to figure their profit. If these net earnings are less than $900, the farm operator can report his actual earnings or report an arbitrary figure of $900—whichever he chooses. If his net is above $900, he must report the actual figure.

In addition, some 2,100,000 farm laborers—people doing farm work for others—are covered for the first time. Farm laborers were covered in the past only if they were "regularly" hired by one employer and received cash wages of $50 or more per quarter of a year from that employer.

Now they will be covered if they are paid as much as $100 by a single employer in a single year.

The worker himself has no return to make. For any wages paid after Friday, the employer is to deduct 2 per cent of the worker's wages, add another 2 per cent from his own money, and turn all this over to the government annually, or whenever the combined tax fund reaches $100. Workers must obtain a social security number and card from his nearest social security office.

Optional coverage is extended for the first time to about 3½ million state and local government employees. Many local governments already have their own retirement systems. Under the old law, employees covered by these systems could not come under the OASI program. The new law permits