You may have seen Neal Gabler doing movie reviews on the PBS show Sneak Previews or read the noted author’s magazine articles or books. But what you’d never have known, or guessed, is that if he needed $400 to pay for an emergency, he would have difficulty finding the money — just like nearly half of Americans.
via Next Avenue.
Congress should BOOST Social Security benefits for all working Americans.
See more posts like this on Tumblr
#politics #retirement #retirees #retirement crisis #p2 #middle class #seniors #older americans
America’s middle class faces a growing retirement crisis. More than half of all working-age households are expected to be at risk of having to cut back their standard of living—often making painful adjustments—when they retire.
The conservative argument that the retirement crisis is a myth has been based on the notion that Americans actually will have far more in retirement resources than they recognize — particularly that Social Security benefits will amount to a much larger percentage of workers’ lifetime income than has been assumed. Ergo, there’s no need to expand Social Security to give retirees more.
via Los Angeles Times.
Rather than acknowledge our national retirement crisis and propose policy prescriptions to improve the ability of average Americans’ to save for retirement and boost benefits for Social Security and Medicare, policy proposals of most of the Republican Presidential candidates do just the opposite – cut benefits and shift more costs to middle-class families.
The 114th Congress will see many new faces after the 2014 midterms; however, the face of our nation’s middle class remains largely unchanged - they’re poorer, more diverse, getting older and facing a retirement crisis which threatens millions.
Read more by clicking here or the graphic above.
Workers in Louisville face a major — and very real — retirement crisis. Wealth inequality and workplace changes have practically sawed off two of the legs of the traditional retirement stool: pensions and private savings.
More than half of today’s retirees rely on the third leg of the stool, Social Security, for most of their income. (The average Social Security benefit in Kentucky is roughly $16,000 per year, only about $3,500 above the federal poverty line for individuals.) Even with Social Security, some 13% of Kentucky seniors live in poverty. The good news is that workers can increase the size of their future Social Security checks by delaying retirement.
It’s no secret that American workers face a major – and very real – retirement crisis. Wealth inequality and workplace changes have all but kicked out two of the legs of the traditional retirement stool: pensions and private savings – both of which are at historic lows.
More and more retirees have come to rely on the third leg of the stool, Social Security, for most of their income. (The average monthly Social Security benefit in New York State is about $1,450 or some $17,000 per year, only slightly above the federal poverty line.) Even with Social Security, 10% of New York’s seniors live in poverty. The good news is that workers can increase the size of their future Social Security checks by delaying retirement.
However, some conservatives in Congress insist that relief for programs like the Older Americans Act be paid for by cutting Medicare and Medicaid. This budgetary sleight-of-hand could trade partial relief for some seniors’ programs by cutting other essential health security programs like Medicare and Medicaid, thus further eroding the tenuous economic situation many older Americans face.
Max Richtman via Huffington Post.
Max Ritchman, President and CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare: “America’s seniors understand all too well that our nation faces a retirement crisis and improving Social Security benefits is vital to keeping millions from poverty. Rep. Linda Sanchez’s ‘Strengthening Social Security Act’ makes several important improvements for seniors by: phasing out the payroll tax cap so that the wealthy pay their fair share, creating a Cost of Living adjustment for the elderly and boosting benefits for all retirees including widows/widowers. NCPSSM strongly supports this legislation and applauds Congresswoman Sanchez for doing the right thing for America’s seniors and their families.”
November 19th, 2015
Call Congress and tell them to support increasing funding for Older Americans Act and Senior Justice programs slashed after years of sequester.
It’s no secret that American workers face a major – and very real – retirement crisis. Wealth inequality and workplace changes have all but kicked out two of the legs of the traditional retirement stool: pensions and private savings – both of which are at historic lows. More and more retirees have come to rely on the third leg of the stool, Social Security, for most of their income. (The average monthly Social Security benefit in Vermont is about $1,420 or some $17,000 per year, only a few thousand dollars above the federal poverty line.)
Even with Social Security, nearly 7% of the state’s seniors live in poverty. The good news is that workers can increase the size of their future Social Security checks by delaying retirement.
[Read more about our education initiative, Delay & Gain, by clicking here]
