Cut the Cake, Not the Benefits
14 August 2005Today, August 14, is Social Security’s birthday. Happy Birthday Social Security! You have a lot to be proud of. Here are the top ten reasons why…
Fact #1: About half of the elderly have incomes that, without Social Security, leave them below the poverty line. Social Security lifts 13 million elderly Americans above the poverty line.
Fact #2: Social Security does more to reduce poverty among children than any other government program. In 2002, one million children under age 18 were lifted above the poverty line by Social Security benefits.
Fact #3: Social Security is more than just a retirement program: one-third of Social Security beneficiaries receive survivors benefits or disability insurance benefits. 10 million beneficiaries are adults below the age of 65, and 4 million are children.
Fact #4: For two-thirds of the elderly, Social Security provides the majority of their income. For one-third of the elderly, it provides nearly all of their income.
Fact #5: Social Security provides benefits to 48 million Americans, with the average beneficiary receiving $10,500 per year.
Fact #6: Social Security is especially beneficial for women. Some 57 percent of adult beneficiaries are women.
Fact #7: Social Security is particularly important for African Americans. African Americans benefit from Social Security’s progressive benefit formula and from its disability and survivor benefits. A wide range of studies, both by respected government agencies and by leading private scholars, have found that these benefits more than make up for the fact that African Americans have a lower average life expectancy.
Fact #8: Social Security provides an especially good deal for Hispanics. Hispanics benefit substantially from the design of Social Security because, on average, they have lower incomes, a higher incidence of disability, more children per family, and longer life expectancies.
Fact #9: Social Security provides a progressive benefit that keeps up with increases in the cost of living.
Fact #10: Social Security is an extremely efficient program, with administrative costs equaling only 0.6 percent of retirement and survivors benefits. (Thanks to The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities Top Ten Facts on Social Security’s 70th Anniversary for these ten points.)
For additional information about Social Security and related retirement issues as they affect Alaskans, see the Retirement Security postings on this blog site. For an excellent selection of articles on Social Security, see the Coalition on Human Needs Social Security Page.