MANY MASSACHUSETTS FARMERS NOT COMPLYING WITH THE 

 SOCIAL SECURITY LAW 



John and Mary Farmer had worked hard to pay for the little farm they owned, 

 but it had been worth their many hours of toil. They both knew John couldn't 

 work forever. He was getting older and his health was likely to decline, but 

 there seemed to be plenty of time to think about retiring. Several of his older 

 neighbors had already retired and were drawing social security checks based on 

 only two years of farming. That seemed simple enough to John. He had never 

 bothered to file tax returns for social security purposes as he had never made 

 enough to pay income tax. But that shouldn't be a problem, he thought. John 

 continued to farm and kept putting off filing his tax returns. 



Eventually the day came when John realized that age had caught up with him. 

 He didn't have the strength and energy to raise a crop next year. He would just 

 have to let his sons take over the farm. In 1960, he filed tax returns for his 

 last two years of farming. He then went to see his social security office to 

 find out what he would have to do to get his and Mary's checks started when he 

 became 65 in a few months. 



John was shocked when the social security representative told him the two 

 returns he had filed were not enough to qualify him for benefits. It was true 

 that some farmers were able to qualify with two years, but they were older than 

 John, Many of the younger farmers would have to report as much as ten years to 

 qualify. Being 65 in 1960 meant John had to file for 5 years. Since he did not 

 file for 1955 and 1956 on time, John's carelessness prevented his qualifying for 

 benefits. Unless he can keep farming for two more years and files a delinquent 

 return for 1957, he will never collect. 



Unfortunately, John is not alone in his carelessness. More than one-half 

 of Massachusetts farmers, especially the younger ones, are failing to file tax 

 returns and report their farm income for social security purposes. By not 

 filing these returns, they are depriving their loved ones of the financial pro- 

 tection afforded by the Social Security Act. 



There are several reasons for this carelessness. Many young farmers are 

 like John in believing they can wait until they are near 65 or become disabled 

 and then "go back" and file returns for a couple of years and try to qualify. 

 They will learn the hard way, just like John did, that their tax returns must be 

 filed on time. Social security credits cannot be included for more than three 

 years in the past on the basis of late tax returns. This is especially distressing 

 where younger farmers file for disability benefits or their widows try to file for 

 survivors benefits. Younger farmers should carefully consider the advantage of 

 filing under the optional method every year for the sake of their families - in the 

 event of their untimely death or disablement. 



This plan of filing Social Security tax returns only during the years from 

 age 55 to 65 is a very shortsighted one. Younger farmers are leaving their fam- 

 lies unprotected against two major risks, while the cost of the single premium 

 against all their hazards is nominal under the option. 



Many younger farmers are not filing returns because they still do not real- 

 ize the valuable protection provided their families in case of their death or 

 disablement. For example, payments to a widow with two small children range from 

 $53 to as much as $254 per month. It's not uncommon for survivors benefits to 



