101 years dealing with crosswords

By Phil Cobb | March 23, 2015 |

Social Security: Online access always available

Did you know that crossword puzzles are the most popular and widespread word game in the world?

No wonder we have three days in March — the 27th throughh the 29th — dedicated to these tricky grids of elusive answers. Arthur Wynne, who immigrated to the United States from Liverpool, England, at the age of 19, is credited with creating the first published crossword puzzle, dating back to Dec. 21, 1913.

If Social Security created a crossword puzzle of every question we’ve ever been asked, it might take another hundred years for someone to solve. That’s why we’ve collected the best of them to commemorate the Crossword Puzzle Days of March.

We’ve also put the puzzle together in crossword form below. Take out your pencil and match the blank to one of the words in the right column.

ACROSS

4 – About 47 percent of _______ persons rely on Social Security for 90 percent or more of their income.

8 – The average age of disabled-worker beneficiaries in current-payment status has _______ substantially since 1960

9 – 67 years old is the _____ retirement age of a person born after 1960

10 – There were 63 million Social Security ___________ in 2013

11 – 9 out of ten individuals age 65 and older receive Social Security _______

DOWN

1 – 55 percent of Social Security beneficiaries were _______ in 2013

2 – 165 million _______ are covered under Social Security

3 – One 5th of all beneficiaries in 2013 were _______ or the spouses and children of retired or disabled workers

5 – Social Security benefits represent about 38 percent of the income of the ________

6 – Supplemental Security __________ (SSI)

7 – Benefits to retired workers has ________in the past 40 years

That wasn’t too tough, was it?

Arthur Wynne, inventor of the crossword puzzle, is said to have died penniless, but if he were alive today, he would be one of the millions of Social Security beneficiaries. If you are interested in more facts about Social Security, you can visit www.socialsecurity.gov/news/press/factsfig.html.

ANSWERS:

ACROSS

4– unmarried

8– declined

9– full

10– beneficiaries

11– benefits

DOWN

1- women

2- workers

3- survivors

5- elderly