THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, February 25, 1995 TAG: 9502250005
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A8 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 37 lines
Andrew C. Kline's father did not realize he had gotten all of the withholding from his pay within a few years of his starting to draw Social Security checks (``The elderly should stop stealing from kids,'' Feb. 1). His education must have been sadly neglected, even if he was a New York fire officer who probably worked very hard to support his family. That poor man didn't know where the retirement money came from. His son should have told him when he got the first check that there is no ``retirement fairy.''
I'm not a college graduate or a CPA or anyone with advanced knowledge of accounting, but I do know that my children are paying for my Social Security with their withholding. Perhaps if my husband (now deceased) and I had earned higher salaries and had not had children to support, we could have put more money aside for my retirement.
My children are glad to live with the withholding, knowing the alternative. They do not have to take me into their homes and be totally responsible for me. They do not have to put up with a senior who sometimes can be a little difficult to live with.
Like most other children, mine are happy that I am independent and can live my life in dignity. As for Andrew Kline, if he ever receives a Social Security check, he should return it to his children. That would be the right thing to do - he suggested that his values dictate that course.
Children should forget all that their parents did for them. They don't owe them anything. Right?
LILLIAN RIMMER
Norfolk, Feb. 10, 1995 by CNB