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Major differences in the present social security law and H.R. 12580 as passed by the House of

Representatives

OLD-AGE, SURVIVORS, AND DISABILITY INSURANCE

I. COVERAGE

[References are to the sections of the bill as referred to the Senate, and the pages to H. Rept. 1799, 86th Cong., 2d sess.]

Item

A. Self-employed:

Present law

H.R. 12580

1. Professional groups. Covers all professional groups except physi

2. Ministers..

cians.

Covers duly ordained, commissioned or licensed ministers, Christian Science practitioners, and members of religious orders (other than those who have taken a vow of poverty) serving in the United States, and those serving outside the country who are citizens and either working for United States employers or serving a congregation predominantly made up of United States citizens. Coverage is available under the selfemployment coverage provisions on an individual voluntary basis regardless of whether they are employees or self-employed.

Allows election of coverage by filing of certificate for present minister, generally up until Apr. 15, 1959.

Covers physicians.

Effective date: Taxable years ending on or after Dec. 31, 1960.

Bill: Sec. 104.

House report, pp. 4, 5, 17, 75-77.

(Also covers as employees medical and dental interns and medical and dental residents in training who are employed in hospitals of the Federal Government, and interns in the employ of a privately operated hospital who have completed a 4-year course in a medical school chartered according to State law.)

Extends the period of time generally through
Apr. 15, 1962, within which present ministers
may elect coverage.
Bill: Sec. 101.

House report, pp. 21, 22, 59.

Permits the validation of coverage of certain clergymen who filed tax returns reporting self-employment earnings from the ministry for certain years after 1954 and before 1960 even though, through error, they had not filed waiver certificates effective for those years. Waiver certificate must be filed and taxes for these years must be paid by Apr. 15, 1962.

Bill: Sec. 101(c).

House report: Pp. 22, 59, 60.

58387 0

-60

Item

OLD-AGE, SURVIVORS, AND DISABILITY INSURANCE-Continued I. COVERAGE-Continued

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B. Employees----

1. Domestic workers

2. Casual labor...

3. State and local government employees.

Covers employees including certain agent or commission drivers, life-insurance salesmen, homeworkers, traveling salesmen, and officers of corporations regardless of the common law definition of employee. Covers persons performing domestic service in private nonfarm homes if they receive $50 or more during a calendar quarter from 1 employer. Noncash remuneration is excluded.

Excludes students performing domestic service in clubs or fraternities if enrolled and regularly attending classes at a school, college, or university. Covers cash remuneration for service not in the course of the employer's trade or business if the remuneration is $50 or more from 1 employer during a calendar quarter.

Covers employees of State and local governments provided the individual State enters into an agreement with the Federal Government to provide such coverage, with the following special provisions:

a. Employees who are in positions covered under an existing State or local retirement system (except policemen and firemen in most States) may be covered under State agreements only if a referendum is held by a secret written ballot, after not less than 90 days' notice, and if the majority of eligible employees under the retirement system vote in favor of coverage. The Governor of a State must personally certify that certain Social Security Act requirements under the referendum procedure have been properly carried out.

In most States, all members of a retirement system (with minor exceptions) must be covered if any members are covered.

Employees of any institution of higher learning (including a junior college or a teachers' college) under a retirement system can, if the State so desires, be covered as a seperate coverage group. 1 or more political subdivisions may be considered as a separate coverage group even though its employees are under a statewide retirement system.

No change.

Lowers coverage requirements to $25 or more during a calendar quarter from 1 employer. Excludes from coverage all earnings of domestic workers who are under the age of 16.

Effective date: Jan. 1, 1961.
Bill: Sec. 108.

House report: Pp. 17-18, 83-84.

Lowers coverage requirements to $25 or more during a calendar quarter from 1 employer. Excludes from coverage all earnings of casual workers who are under the age of 16. Effective date: Jan. 1, 1961. Bill: Sec. 108.

House report: Pp. 17-18, 83-84.

Permits the Governor of a State to delegate to a designated State official the making of the certifications required under the referendum procedure.

Bill: Sec. 102(a).

House report: pp. 24, 61, 62.

Allows employees of municipal or county hospital to be treated as a separate coverage group if the State so desires. Bill: Sec. 102(g).

House report: pp. 25, 67, 68.

OLD-AGE, SURVIVORS, AND DISABILITY INSURANCE-Continued I. COVERAGE-Continued

Present law

H.R. 12580

Item

B. Employees-Continued 3. State and local government employees-Con.

4. Employees of non

profit organizations.

Retroactive coverage.-An agreement, or modification of an agreement, agreed to prior to 1960 could be made effective as early as Jan. 1, 1956. Agreements or modifications made after 1959 could only be made retroactive to the 1st day of the year in which they were agreed to. Coverage must begin on the same date for all persons in a coverage group.

Exceptions to general law authorizing coverage in named States:

(1) Split-system provision.-Authorizes California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin, and all inter-State instrumentalities, at their option, to extend coverage to the members of a State retirement system by dividing such a system into 2 divisions, 1 to be composed of those persons who desire coverage and the other of those persons who do not wish coverage, provided that new members of the retirement system coverage group are covered compulsorily. Also authorizes similar treatment of political subdivision retirement systems of these States.

(2) Policemen and firemen.-Allows the States of Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Kansas, Maryland, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, and Washington and all inter-State instrumentalities to make coverage available to policemen and firemen in those States, subject to the same conditions that apply to coverage of other employees who are under State and local retirement systems, except that where the policemen and firemen are in a retirement system with other classes of employees the policemen and firemen may, at the option of the State, hold a separate referendum and be covered as a separate group.

Covers employees of religious, charitable, educational, and other nonprofit organizations (which are exempt from income tax and are described in sec. 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code) on a voluntary basis if—

Allows agreements or modifications made after 1959 to begin as early as 5 years before the year in which an agreement is made, but no earlier than Jan. 1, 1956. Where a retirement system is covered as a single retirement system coverage group, permits the State to provide different beginning dates for coverage of the employees of different political subdivisions.

Bill: Sec. 102(c).

House report: pp. 22-23, 62-63. Provides that where an individual who has chosen not to be covered under the divided retirement system provision becomes a member of a different retirement system group because of the annexation of the employing political subdivision by another political subdivision, or through some other action taken by a political subdivision, such individual will continue to be excluded from coverage.

Bill: Sec. 102(b).

House report: pp. 23-24, 62.

Adds Virginia to the list.
Bill: Sec. 102(d).

House report: p. 24, 63.

Validation of coverage.-Validates the coverage of certain teachers and school administrative personnel who, for the period Mar. 1, 1951, to Oct. 1, 1959, were reported under the Mississippi coverage agreement as State employees, rather than as employees of the various school districts in Mississippi. Bill: Sec. 102(h).

House report: p. 25, 68.

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OLD-AGE, SURVIVORS, AND DISABILITY INSURANCE-Continued I. COVERAGE-Continued

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B. Employees-Continued 4. Employees of nonprofit organization-Con.

a. the employer organization certifies that it desires to extend coverage to its employees, and

b. at least of the organization's employees concur in the filing of a waiver certificate. Employees who do not concur in the filing of the certificate are not covered except that all employees hired after a certificate becomes effective are covered.

Waiver certificate may be made effective at the option of the organization on the 1st day of the quarter in which the certificate is filed or the 1st day of the succeeding quarter.

Employees of nonprofit organizations who are in positions covered by State and local retirement systems and are members or eligible to become members of such systems must be treated apart from those not in such positions. Certificates must be filed separately for each group and % of the employees in each group must concur in the filing of its certificate. All new employees who belong to a group for which a certificate has been filed are automatically covered, and new employees who belong to a group for which a certificate has not been filed are not covered.

Eliminates requirement that % of the employees concur in filing a certificate.

Effective date: Certificates filed after date of enactment.

Bill: Sec. 106(a).

House report: pp. 20, 78-79.

Eliminates requirement that % of the employees in the group concur in filing a certificate. Effective date: Certificates filed after date of enactment.

Bill: Sec. 106(a).

House report: pp. 20, 78-79.

Validates wages for services performed after 1950 and before July 1, 1960, by certain employees of nonprofit organizations where the organization has been reporting and paying taxes but did not comply with certain provisions of the law: i.e., failed to file a certificate, filed it too late to cover employees who had left, or failed to obtain the signatures of employees who wished coverage. Effective date: No benefits payable or increased for month of enactment or prior month; no lump sum death payment payable or increased if individual died prior to date of enactment.

Bill: Sec. 106(b).

House report: pp. 20-21, 79-80. Validates remuneration erroneously reported as self-employment income for taxable years ending after 1954 and before 1962 by certain lay missionaries (and others). Effective date: No benefits payable or increased for months of enactment or prior month; no lump sum death payment payable or increased if individual died prior to date of enactment.

Bill: Sec. 106(c).

House report: pp. 20, 80-81.

Item

OLD-AGE, SURVIVORS, AND DISABILITY INSURANCE-Continued

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Covers parents in the employ of their children, but not if it is domestic service performed in the home of the child or other work not in the course of the child's trade or business. Effective as to services after 1960. Bill: Sec. 105.

House report: pp. 18-19, 78.

Extends coverage to Guam and American Samoa.

Effective for employees, except governmental employees, on Jan. 1, 1960, and for selfemployed for taxable years beginning after 1960.

Coverage of employees of the governments of Guam and American Samoa-including members of the legislature, their political subdivisions, and their wholly owned instrumentalities-would be on a mandatory basis rather than under the State-Federal agreement method.

Coverage will not be extended to these employees until the legislatures of these territories express a desire for coverage. In no event can this coverage start before 1961. Filipino workers who come to Guam under contract to work temporarily will be excluded from coverage.

The Secretary of the Treasury would have the
tax-collecting authority, and would be
authorized to delegate this function.
Bill: Sec. 103.

House report: pp. 19-20, 68-75.
No change except-

b. Covers U.S. citizens so employed within the United States on self-employment basis. Effective as to taxable years ending after 1960; for retirement test purposes effective for years beginning after date of enactment.

Bill: Sec. 107.

House report: pp. 22, 82-83.

c. Covers as in b. (above).

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