CONSUMERS : U.S. Savings Bonds Not a Family Bind

Question: During World War II, my mother-in-law’s brother left her with several U.S. Savings Bonds for safekeeping. The bonds were in his name only. They lost touch and many attempts to trace this brother were unsuccessful. Through contact with the Social Security Administration, she was informed that her brother had died in 1986. No other information as to heirs, or marital status, could be disclosed by law. We would like to know what should, or could be, done with these savings bonds and would appreciate any information you can give us as to how to pursue a determination of ownership.--E.R.

Answer: Now, that’s really falling out of touch. Savings bonds sold during World War II, of course, stopped earning interest on the 40th anniversary of their date of issue. But, even so, according to Bill Houlette, a spokesman for the Treasury Department’s Savings Bonds Division, they should be worth anywhere from 4 to 4 1/2 times their face value today.

Now, it’s true, indeed, that the Social Security Administration is leery about giving out very much information on a second party. But, according to Joe Giglio, a public affairs specialist for the agency, it is authorized, under certain circumstances, to give out a bit more information than the mere date of the brother’s death.

A personal trip to your local Social Security office, Giglio suggests, would probably be more fruitful than merely calling, or writing, for this information.

Actually, Houlette adds, you don’t need much more information than you have--you will, of course, need to know the dead brother’s Social Security number, the date of death and county in which he died.

From this it should be possible to find out from Social Security whether any death benefits were paid to anyone--which, certainly, would be a clue to any possible survivors and heirs.

But with even less than this--just the date and place of death--you should be able to contact the County Office of Records where the death took place and find out who the executor of the estate was, who, in turn, can tell you specifically who the heirs (if any) are.

It’s entirely possible, of course, that your mother-in-law is the heir apparent.

You might also find it helpful, Houlette says, to contact the Bond Consultant Branch, Bureau of Public Debt, Parkersburg, W.Va. 26106. Or call it at (304) 420-6102.

While it is this office that processes claims filed by people who feel they are beneficiaries of missing Savings Bonds, the nature of this work, naturally, also involves it in tracking down heirs too. There is a form to be filled out (isn’t there always?), but, here again, you’ll probably need the dead brother’s Social Security number. Good luck.

Q: The United States Supreme Court may reverse Roe vs Wade and, in doing so, make it law that life begins at conception. This will make me another nine months older, and, since I am only three months away from my 64th birthday, does this mean that I will only be six months from my retirement instead of a year and three months?

A lot of Social Security money will be riding on the court’s decision--billions. Will the government owe everyone on Social Security another nine months’ income?--J.S.

A: Aha, you’re a sly dog, you are! The Roe vs Wade ruling in 1973 legalized abortion nationwide and anti-abortion forces are currently taking heart in a recent Supreme Court announcement that it will hear Webster vs Reproductive Health Services, which involves a 1986 Missouri abortion law. So, the issue, sure enough, is very much alive.

As you might imagine, my friends at the Social Security Administration wouldn’t touch your question with your 10-foot-pole, much less their own. And it almost goes without saying that if, by chance, the Roe vs Wade decision is, indeed, overturned, it’s a lead-pipe cinch that someone, sure enough, will file suit pressing the very point you’re making. And whatever the courts decide on the matter is the course that the Social Security Administration will dutifully follow.

Regardless of what the Supreme Court decides (if it ever does) about when life, itself, begins, does this mean that no one will ever again celebrate a “birthday?”

For instance: “When’s your birthday?” “Oh, around the 10th, 11th or 12th of October.”

What do you want to bet that, if such a thing happens, Congress will determine in its infinite wisdom that, for Social Security purposes, we’ll be eligible for benefits nine months after our 65th birthday?