Beneficiaries affected by annual earnings test in 1973

Every year a number of social security beneficiaries under age 72 lose some or all of their benefits because of the annual earnings test. This article describes those affected in 1973--who they were, how much they earned, and how much they lost in cash benefits. The relationships between certain beneficiary characteristics--such as age, sex, race, primary insurance amount, and family status--and the amount of earnings and lost benefits are examined. About 1.4 million retired workers aged 62-71, or nearly one-sixth of all such persons on the rolls, were affected by the earnings test. Relatively fewer women retired workers than men incurred benefit losses because relatively fewer women worked and those who did had lower earnings. Black retired workers and those of other minority races had lower earnings than did their white counterparts. About 400,000 dependent and survivor beneficiaries lost benefits because of their earnings. This total included more than 150,000 widowed mothers, or about one-fourth of all such women on the rolls.