We Must Protect Social Security! American Seniors Are Facing Financial Hardships
The vast majority of Americans are inadequately prepared for retirement. According to an article by Yahoo! Finance, 37 percent of retirees say they have no retirement savings. For those who do have some savings, it’s not nearly enough to get by. The article points out that the average American retiree currently has about $170,726 in retirement savings. That’s a decrease from $191,659 at the beginning of 2022. This is very concerning when you consider that it’s recommended seniors have $555,000 in retirement savings or 10 tmes the U.S. median income.
Social Security Supplement
For many older Americans, Social Security is the foundation of their retirement plans. The Social Security Administration reports that around half of individuals aged 65 or older receive at least 50 percent of their household income from the government program. But with the Social Security trust fund nearing deficit, retirement benefits will likely be slashed within the next decade.
Congress Can Help
Fortunately, Congress has the power to reinforce Social Security solvency if they would only enact the Social Security Expansion Act. The Seniors Trust is a strong supporter of this landmark piece of legislation that will buttress the long-term solvency of Social Security by expanding benefits for seniors — not cutting them!
When passed, this legislation will make four major changes to Social Security for retirees:
• Benefits will be increased for most recipients by about $200 per month.
• The Consumer Price Index for the Elderly (CPI-E) will be used to calculate Social Security Cost-of-Living Adjustments (COLAs) instead of the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners (CPI-W) used currently. The CPI-E takes the unique spending habits of seniors into account — particularly regarding the cost of healthcare — and offers a more realistic COLA for retirees.
• Social Security minimum benefits will be increased to provide higher payments to seniors and greatly reduce senior poverty.
• Enhanced benefits would be set to greatly reduce senior poverty to guarantee the long-term solvency of the Social Security program.
If you want to see seniors get bigger Social Security benefits, please join our efforts to enact the Social Security Expansion Act. An easy way to do that is by signing our petition to Congress. It’s time our lawmakers do what’s best for America’s retirees.
