House unit OKs new cuts in social security benefits

A House committee approved $560 million in additional social security cuts for next year in an effort to stay within budget targets already approved by Congress. The Ways and Means Committee agreed to three changes in benefits for fiscal 1982 to make up for a $411 million shortfall in the total amount of targeted spending cuts under its jurisdiction. It agreed to keep the retirement exemption age at 72, rather than lowering it to 70 on Jan. 1 as scheduled; to eliminate the $255 lump-sum death benefit if there are no surviving beneficiaries; and to delay recipients' first checks by one mont h unless they become eligible on the first of the month.