FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
August 5, 2010
Contact: AARP Media Relations, media@aarp.org, 202-434-2560
AARP Statement on 2010 Social Security Trustees Report
Report reaffirms program not in crisis; Modest adjustments needed to maintain critical benefits
WASHINGTON – AARP Executive Vice President John Rother offered the following statement in reaction to the Social Security Trustees report released today:
“Today’s report from the Social Security Trustees reaffirms that the program is financially strong in the short-term and can be strengthened for the future with relatively modest adjustments. With pensions, savings, investment values and home equity down, with many older workers unable to find jobs, and with health costs continuing their upward climb, Social Security’s guaranteed benefits are more crucial than ever.
“The Trustees confirm that Social Security can pay full benefits for decades, and approximately 75 percent into the future even if nothing is done. However, that is not good enough. AARP renews its call to act in the coming few years to shore up the system’s long term ability to pay promised benefits to retirees, survivors, and those with disabilities. We should not wait for a crisis to develop to act – Americans should be confident that their earned benefits will be there for them when they need them.
“Social Security’s role as a foundation for economic security is too important to let politics as usual get in the way of the modest and gradual adjustments that would ensure adequate benefits for current and future generations.”
For more information, visit www.aarp.org.
About AARP
AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that helps people 50+ have independence, choice and control in ways that are beneficial and affordable to them and society as a whole. AARP does not endorse candidates for public office or make contributions to either political campaigns or candidates. We produce AARP The Magazine, the definitive voice for 50+ Americans and the world's largest-circulation magazine with over 35.1 million readers; AARP Bulletin, the go-to news source for AARP's millions of members and Americans 50+; AARP VIVA su Segunda Juventud, the only bilingual U.S. publication dedicated exclusively to the 50+ Hispanic community; and our website, AARP.org. AARP Foundation is an affiliated charity that provides security, protection, and empowerment to older persons in need with support from thousands of volunteers, donors, and sponsors. We have staffed offices in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
