R was a worker who applied for old age social security insurance benefits in September 1962. He had been working and earning $450 per month since 1960 and expected to continue working at that same level for the next few years. He alleged that his birthdate was October 10th, 1890; however, he was not able to provide a birth certificate because the state in which he was born did not maintain birth records at the time.

As evidence of his date of birth he provided the following evidence:

● A family Bible showing his birth date as October 10, 1890.

● A certification from the 1900 census records dated June 1st 1900 showing that he was 9 years old at the time.

● A certification from the 1910 poll-tax records in Y County showing that he had paid poll- tax, which was only required for persons age 21 or older.

● A copy of a World War I draft registration card dated June 5th 1917, showing his birth date as October 10th, 1890.

● An application for a social security number in 1936 showing his birth year as 1891.

● An old family record book provided by his sister, showing his birth date as October 10, 1890, which she had copied from the family bible.

● An affidavit from his older sister who stated that she herself was born in 1875 and that her brother was born on October 10, 1890.

Based on these records, there was no doubt that R qualified for old age social security insurance benefits. The critical question was: when did R reach age seventy-two, for at that fortunate age he could make any amount of money without having his retirement benefits reduced by his earnings.

The old family Bible was not a very reliable source of evidence because, even though it was old and presumably contained a record of R’s birth close in time to the event itself, the writing had faded badly with time and a newer entry of R’s date of birth had been etched on top of the faded entry.

The family record book had no more probative value than the old family Bible, since it was copied from that source,

The 1900 census record was not very illuminating because the simple statement that R was 9 years old at the time did not definitively establish the year of his birth; he could have been born in 1890 or 1891, depending on his birth month.

The poll-tax records of 1910 raised the inference that R was 21 at the time he paid the tax. But even this was uncertain because of the possibility that R had paid the tax by a mistaken understanding of the law or some other reason.

The World War I draft registration card, on the other hand, had great probative value. It was created in the distant past for a purpose of great importance, for which establishing the correct date of birth carried significant consequences. It was consistent with R’s older sister’s affidavit, as well as R’s own affidavit.

The application for a social security number, which showed R’s year of birth as 1891 was not nearly as persuasive. It was created much later than the draft card for a purpose for which the applicant’s age was not material.

Held: R’s established date of birth was October 10th, 1890. Beginning October 1962, his social security retirement benefits were no longer subject to work reductions.

See Social Security Ruling (SSR) 63-26.

This material should not be construed as legal advice for any particular fact situation, but is intended for general informational purposes only. For advice specific to any individual situation, an experienced attorney should be contacted.