34,118 N.C. Seniors on Old Age Assistance in 1939, Receiving Zero to $11 a Month

“More Than 34,000 Listed on Aged Assistance Roll in State as of Past June 30^th” from the Tuesday, July 25, 1939, issue of the Burlington Daily Times-News. The Social Security Act went into effect on Aug. 14, 1935, when it was signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, but taxes were not collected until January 1937, when the first one-time, lump-sum payments were made. Regular monthly benefits began in January 1940, which is why the state of North Carolina was distributing somewhere between zero dollars and $11 per month in 1939. More than 10 percent of the people on the rolls as "receiving old age assistance" actually received zero dollars. 

Raleigh, July 25—North Carolina’s 34,118 people receiving old age assistance on June 30 included 8,199 new cases accepted during the fiscal year, Nathan H. Yelton, director of the division of public assistance of the State Board of Charities and Public Welfare, announced here.

Year-end figures compiled by J.S. Kirk, department statistician, showed that the 8,199 new cases to be composed of 5,821 white, 2,320 negro and 4 Indian, with men accounting for 3,693 and women for 4,506 of the number.

Of the additions to the rolls, 903 were living alone, the majority receiving from $8 to $11; while 4,360 with the majority getting grants ranging from $5 to $10, were living with relatives. At the time of the investigation, 6,876 were receiving no aid.

Listed as having no income other than their public assistance grant were 5,821 persons. While of the 2,378 receiving a small income, 515 were doing so by means of their own earnings, 505 from the sale of farm produce and 1,097 from contributions from relatives or friends.

Four hundred and ninety-four of the new cases were bedridden, 2,142 required considerable care, and 5,563 were able to care for themselves. Of the 8,199 total, 3,011 were under the care of a physician at the time of investigation.

The 19 new cases listed as being 100 years or more in age were composed of four white men, seven white women, one negro man and six negro women.

Ages of the vast majority of the new cases ranged between 65 and 85 years, while as to sex the 8,199 were divided: white—2,571 men, 3,250 women; negro—1,100 men, 1,229 women; Indian—22 men, 27 women.

Only 17 new recipients were foreign born, two of them listing Asia as their birthplace. Urban residence was allotted to 1,936 people, with 1,629 living in towns of less than 2,500 population, and 4,634 living on farms.

More men were listed among the 2,613 married recipients, while women predominated in the 4,618 widowed and the 572 single persons. Sixty-eight were divorced and 228 were separated from their former mates.