all instances they represent a “bar- Employers, Workers, from April- and January- gain” to the annuitant. These arbi- , respectively. The total trary factors were undoubtedly and Wages, April-June number of workers employed in cov- introduced for ease in administration, ered industries, estimated at 38.8 mil- but they do create significant inequi- 1949 - * - lion, was 4.4 percent smaller than in ties as between different individuals. Workers with taxable wages in the second quarter of 1948 and 0.5 The following tabulation shows, for April- numbered an esti- percent less than in the first quarter certain combinations of ages of male mated 38.5 million, representing a of 1949. These contraseasonal de- employee and wife, the factors that drop of 4.5 percent and 1.3 percent clines result from continuing adjust- will be applicable according to the law and those developed on a reasonable Table l.-Old-age and survivors insurance: Estimated number of employers * actuarial basis. and workers and estimated amount of wages in covered industries, by speci- fied period, 1940-49 In some instances the factors in the (Corrected to Nov. 1,1949] law are more generous by as much as - - - 80 or 90 percent, while for what might All Total pay rolls in Work- i vorkcrs r overed industries 8 be considered the typical case of a E I?rs with nplosed - - -- male employee aged 65 and his wife, 1.nxehle in I- NILWR overcd aged 60, the differential is more than Year and quarter during dust& (P xriod 2 Total 1l-wage iwing Total 1ivcrage 25 percent. An earlier issue of the !n thou- in mil- PPT wiod 1 (in mil- Per StUldS) lions) worker ~11thou- lions) worker Bulletin carried detailed analysis of sands) these joint and survivor annuity fac- -- -- .- .- _- -- tors for married individuals, particu- 1940...- _-..__. -. . ..--.- .-- . . . ..- 2,500 35,393 $932 35,3Q3 $22 ,“g y, y; larly as they apply to the annuity 1941. __. _. __. - _. - - -. - ..-. - 2,646 40,976 % ::.i 1,021 4O,Di6 1942...... -.....-.....--..-..-... 2,655 46,363 521939 1,142 46,363 5s:219 I, 266 in excess of $125 per month, and 1943 .__..__ -..-- .__._....-_.__..- 2,394 47,656 62,423 1,310 47,656 69,653 1,462 1944.....-....-...... -.---.....- 2.469 46,X9 64,426 1,392 46,296 73,349 1,684 also of the different joint and survivor 1945 _...... __ .._.. .._._.. 2,614 46,3'J2 62,945 1,357 46. 3’Z 71,560 1,543 factor for nonmarried 1946..~.....-.-...... --..--.---.- 3,017 49,096 GY,ORR 1,4n7 49,096 79,260 1.614 annuity 1947 -_..-.-.._.._...._-_.~.~...- 3,250 49,200 78,372 1,,593 49,200 92,512 1,8&O annuitants.’ 19484 ._._..._-..- _-.---..--.-.-.- t, 3,300 , 49,600 84,500 1,704 40,600 102,700 2,071 1943

JWlW%ry-&I WCh. _. -. _. _. - 1,971 36,537 15.462 423 36. 537 15,760 431 Factor in law as percent of factor on April-June _.._ -- __...... __... 2,008 37,483 16,561 442 37,557 17,400 463 actuarial basis,1 by specified retire- July-September _... _..._..__..- 1,99F 37,682 15,838 420 38,057 17,498 460 October-December ..__. . ..__. 2,001 36,016 14,562 404 37,553 18,9Q5 505 Age of wife ment age of employee smuitant 1944

January-March- __._._. ..-. ._ ._ 2,01( 36,326 17.362 36,R?F 17,6Q6 487 April-June.. ._. ___._.___._ ._.__. 2,045 36,893 17,284 30,992 18,185 492 102 109 July-September .._._.__.._. .._. 2,03F 37,301 16,243 37,752 18,359 486 111 125 October-December . .._. ._.. _. 2,03c 36,629 13,537 37,7$9 19,109 506 119 143 119 139 116 132 114 126 January-March. __-. ~. .-.. . . ._ __ 2,0x il 17,374 499 35,855 509 118 April-Sum. .~ ___. .~. ___. .___._ 2,14< 17,541 4x9 35,Q4Y 516 :iE 111 July-September..-- .._...... __ 2,liE 14,982 42p 36,255 476 October-December . .._. . 2,196 12,548 373 35,Q73 456 1 Based on 1937 Standard Annuity Table at I-per- 1946 cent interest. Janvary-March ____-_ _. .__ _. 2,282 36,038 16.840 467 3F,038 433 April-June..- . ..__ -- _...... -. 2,41f 3P,O55 17.845 469 38,153 Public Law 320 provides that, for July-September.....~... ___.. -._ 2,47t 39, GiO 17,709 446 40,228 individuals paid on a fee basis, the October-December _._. .-.~ _. .- .- 2,513 37,945 16,694 4411 3Q,Q30 E maximum salary to be considered for 1947 benefit purposes shall be $10,000 per January-March __.._. .__ _. __._ 2.5% 537 38, 765 21.501 April-June ..__._ _._.._ _. ._ . . 2,58? 2 “GE 51x 40.2m 21,254 2 i year. This amendment was designed July-September ._._... ._.__. -_. 2. 6X 19: 555 496 41,155 23, 049 560 to prevent extremely large annuities October-December... .._. 2, fin9 17.357 463 40, 728 25.708 631 for a relatively small number of in- 1948 dividuals who had very high remu- January-March de.-. .~ .~-. ._ . . ._ 2,59(1 39,600 23.100 583 3R,OOO 24,000 606 April-Juxw...... _._.._._. -_ 2,600 40,300 22,800 566 40,600 24, x00 611 neration resulting from fees in July-September 4. _-.~ _...._ 2, 7w 41.000 21.300 520 42,200 25.000 614 noncovered Federal service and who October-December a- _ . . ..____._ 2,710 36,800 17,300 470 42,000 23, 100 669 subsequently entered a covered posi- 1949 tion and claimed such prior service. January-March 4_...... _._ .- ____ 2,690 23,500 603 39, ma 24,400 6% Public Law 362 extends coverage to April-June a-.. ______.__.____ 2.750 22,500 584 38,800 24.620 634 officers and employees of the Colum- - i L i 1 Number corresponds to number of employer for , p. 310; k x 1941 a nd 1942 in the Bulletin bia Institution for the Deaf, with such returns. A return may relate to more than one for , I ). 3: 1. service in the past being creditable. establishment if employer operates several separate 1 A description of th ese senes and quarterly data establishments bnt reports for concern as a whole. for 1940 were preae’lItA? d in the Bulletin for August 2 Quarterly and annual data for 1937-39 were pre- 1947, p. 30; quart/x ‘lY data for 1941 and 1942 were sented in the Bulletin for , p. 31; presented m the B uzzetin for February 1948, p. 31. 1“Recent Amendments to the Civil quarterly data for 1940 were presented in the &&tin 4 Preliminary. Service Retirement Act,” .

14 Social Security merits in a number of industries cov- few years the average dropped con- counts established in the April-June ered by old-age and survivors insur- tinuously, reaching a low point of $53 quarter was interrupted in 1948,it was ance. in 1943. After slight increases in resumed in 1949 at an accelerated rate. Average taxable wages and average 1944 and 1945 the average amount Fewer account numbers were issued wages in covered industry, estimated showed a very sharp rise, from $94 in April-June 1949 than in any pre- at $584 and $634, respectively, were in 1945 to $150 in 1946. By 1948 the vious second quarter; the total of 616,- 3.2 percent and 3.8 percent higher average refund was $261, and for the 000 (table 21 was 19 Percent less than than in the corresponding quarter of first 6 months of 1949 it was $269. that in the corresponding quarter in 1948. Gains in average hourly earn- Undoubtedly this large increase dur- 1948. From 1947 to 1948, by contrast, ings more than offset the drop in aver- ing the past several years indicates the second-quarter total increased by age weekly hours in the period. The that more older workers, in point of 0.7 percent, and from 1946 to 1947 it operation of the $3,000 limitation on service, are leaving Federal employ- decreased only 2 percent. The rela- taxable wages, however, caused a de- ment and withdrawing their contri- tively sharp decline in the number of cline of 3.2 percent in average tax- butions from the retirement fund. account numbers issued in April-June able wages from the first to the second The legislation referred to above-as 1949 undoubtedly reflected the rise in quarter of 1949. The average wage well as the change in legislation effec- unemployment and the scarcity of per worker in covered industry in- tive July 30,194’7,that raised the limit jobs available to students and youths creased by 1.3 percent. on refunds from 5 years’ service to 10 entering the labor market. The sea- An estimated 2.8 million employers years-would tend to stimulate such sonal increase from the first to the reported payment of taxable wages withdrawals. Another factor affect- second quarter was therefore small- during the second quarter of 1949, 2.2 ing the average amount that must be only 44 percent-as compared with percent more than in the second quar- taken into account is the increase in 61 percent in 1948 and 48 percent in ter of 1948 and in the Arst quarter of contribution rate. Originally 3 per- 1947. 1949. cent, the rate has been raised several The number of accounts issued in times and is now 6 percent. April-June was smaller in 1949 than Civil-Service Refunds in 1948 for both men and women. The Number and amount of civil-service decline for men, however, was rela- The number of contributions re- refunds, by specified period, 1940-49 1 tively more marked, and the propor- funded in the fiscal year 1948-49 to [In thousands] tion they formed of all applicants employees who left the Federal civil therefore fell to 47.5 percent as com- service fell 48 percent below that in Refunds pared with 48.4 percent for the second the preceding year, while payments Period quarter of 1948. This slight decline NUllI- declined 4’7 percent. From January ber brought to a halt the continuous rise to June 1949 there were 103,900 re- that had begun in 1944 in the ratio of funds to Federal employees, 15 per- Calendar year: men to total applicants in the second 1940_-...... __._._. -.--__- _.... ~. 17.8 cent fewer than the July-December 1941..-...- ___.___....._._.....-. 32.4 %i quarter. Although among all appli- 1942__... -- ______...... __.__.__-. 67.3 6: 357 cants in April-June 1949 there were 1948 figure of 122,400, while the $28 1943...... ______. --- . ..___._..._. 204.3 10, RO9 million disbursed represented a de- 1944...... ______._ -...-- .^....._. 704.2 42,156 more women than men, men were 1945 a.-.-.---.------....---....-. 858.1 80,992 cline of more than $4 million or ap- 1946 3.. _..._._.__--...-.-._--.-. 1,,599.5 238,594 more numerous than women in the 1947_--...______. .._ -_- __..._. 633.0 155,892 age group under 16, at ages 21,22, and proximately 14 percent. 1948_--.._...______.__ -_- ._._._. 271.2 iO,664 JC%Ullary-JU~e____ -.-__-. 148.7 38,370 24, and at ages over 60. Refunds to former Federal em- July-December-.--.-.------.. 122.4 32,294 ployees reached their high point- 1949: For the first time since October- January-June . . ..______.__ -._. 103.9 27,918 1,599,500-in the calendar year 1946, January-.---..---.- __._._._. 11. 9 3,129 , both the number and February ._.._.. -.-.- __._.__ 12.2 3,126 with the liquidation of war agencies. March..~~.-.-.--...-.-.~.~. 20.6 5,344 proportion of applications received The number dropped in 1947 to 683,- April ______.... -.-.-.-__.-. 18. 7 4,821 from persons under 20 years of age May...~.~.-.--.-.-.-.-~..-. 18.8 5,125 000 and again in 1948 to 271,200. June _.______-._.---__.- ____ 21.8 6,373 were less than those in the corre- During the first 6 months of 1949 the I sponding quarter of the previous year. level of refunds indicated an annual 1 Refunds principally from civil-service retirement The 429,000 social security account and disability fund but also from Canal Zone and rate of approximately 200,000. This Alaska Railroad retirement and disability funds numbers issued to persons in this age administered by the Civil Service Commission. figure is still high in comparison with 1 Excludes War Department refunds for July- group in April-June 1949 represented prewar refunds, but it has undoubt- December; see footnote 3. a drop of 20 percent from the number 8 Includes $13,926,000 refunded during the fiscal edly been inflated by the legislation year ended ,1946, to 183,000 civilian employees in the corresponding quarter in 1948. effective , 1948, which permits of the War Department. Applicants under age 20, however, still refunds of contributions to persons Source: Civil Service Commission. accounted for 70 percent of all ac- leaving Federal employment who have count numbers issued, a proportion less than 20 years of service. Pre- Applicants for Account only slightly less than the all-time viously no refunds could be made to Numbers, April-June high of 71 percent in April-June 1948. employees who had 10 years or more For each sex, the relative number of of service. 1949 young applicants declined in about the In the calendar year 1940 the aver- Although the long-term downward same proportion. The 214,000 appli- age refund was $184. During the next trend in the volume of employee ac- cations received from young men and

Bulletin, 15