News

Social Security Lifts Seniors Out of Poverty

  • 8/18/2014
  • National Senior Citizens Law Center
  • Source: CALegalAdvocates (Decommissioned) > CALegalAdvocates.org

Without Social Security, celebrating its 79th birthday this week, more than half of all seniors would be poor today. Social Security and other government programs combine to keep many seniors out of extreme poverty. However, a significant number of Baby Boomers, who have made significant contributions to the nation’s economy during their lifetime, will reach the age of 70 with very little savings or retirement income. Fewer and fewer have traditional pensions and will rely solely on Social Security for their income.
Senior poverty would be much worse without Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, Medicare and Medicaid. These programs are almost single handedly responsible for reducing the senior poverty rate (per the Official Poverty Measure) from 35 percent to what it is today.

Facts like these and others about senior poverty can be found in a Poverty and Opportunity Profile from Half in 10, a project devoted to halving poverty in 10 years,  and the National Senior Citizens Law Center.

To find out more about where NSCLC stands on issues related to confronting senior poverty, click here.