Social Security

Our children and grandchildren should be guaranteed an adequate quality of life when they retire by strengthening Social Security without burdening future generations.

By providing a guaranteed standard of living, Social Security is a hallmark of a responsible society. We cannot go back to a time when retirement or disability too often meant poverty.

Social Security will be put to the test

The baby boomers, bigger than any generation before them, are about to retire. They will live longer than any other group in history, and their children and grandchildren will outdo even them. This is one of the greatest accomplishments of our time.

As more and more retirees collect benefits for longer than ever before, however, Social Security will be put to the test. Without changes, Social Security faces a long-term financial shortfall of about 1.7 percent of payroll¹. But, Social Security is not going broke. It can pay 100 percent of promised benefits until 2041². After that, without any changes, incoming revenues will be enough to pay 78 percent of promised benefits for decades to come. But this isn't good enough - getting 78 percent wouldn't be fair for today's retirees and it certainly isn't fair for future generations.

Millions of Americans have the freedom to live the lives they choose because of Social Security

Social Security provides a guaranteed standard of living that gives millions of Americans financial peace of mind in retirement.

• Six-in-ten retirees aged 65+ getting Social Security benefits count on it for half or more of their income³.
• Three-in-ten retirees count on Social Security for 90 percent of their income⁴.
• Without Social Security, the poverty rate for people 65 and over would rise from 10 percent to almost 50 percent⁵.

Pensions and retirement savings are important, too, but they still don't pack the punch Social Security does. Half of today's workers do not participate in a retirement plan on the job⁶, and more and more employers have stopped offering guaranteed pension benefits and instead offer savings plans, such as 401(k)s. For the first time in a long time, the U.S. personal savings rate is near zero⁷, and only about half of families have any retirement savings⁸.

Strengthen Social Security Now

In strengthening Social Security, we must continue to offer secure, adequate benefits for working families. Its modest benefits, which average about $1,000 per month, must continue to offer a reasonable partial replacement of pre-retirement incomes. And, a real solution should be fair for women, caregivers, and lower-wage workers.

A retirement program that works for everyone means:

• Risk-free benefits that you can't outlive for all who contribute
• Annual adjustments that keep up with inflation
• Protection for working families with retirement, disability and survivor benefits.
• Everyone participates and the solution is fair to everyone.
• Balanced contributions from both employees and employers, and benefits based on those contributions.
• An early retirement benefit that meets the needs of American workers.

Financial security in retirement is a promise that must be kept. Social Security must be strengthened to meet the needs of Americans.

Share Your Experience

Do you have an experience with our nation's leaders about why they need to protect Social Security for future generations? We want to hear from you.

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¹ 2008 Annual Report of the Board of Trustees of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance and Disability Insurance Trust Funds-OASDI, Social Security Administration, April 2008, page 2.

² 2008 Annual Report of the Board of Trustees of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance and Disability Insurance Trust Funds-OASDI, Social Security Administration, April 2008, page 8.

³ Income of the Population 55 or Older, 2004, Social Security Administration, page 117.

⁴ Income of the Population 55 or Older, 2004, Social Security Administration, page 117.

⁵ AARP Public Policy Institute calculations of data in the U.S. Census Bureau Current Population Survey March 2007.

⁶ The Coverage of Employer-Provided Pensios: Partial and Uncertain, AARP Public Policy Institute (pdf).

⁷ Federal Reserve Board, Flow of Funds Accounts of the United States, September 18, 2008 release, Table F. 10.

⁸ AARP Public Policy Institute tabulations from the 2004 Survey of Consumer Finances.