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Social Security and the Fight Against Poverty - Newsweek
Mention Social Security, and the natural instinct is to assume it’s about retirement and the support of the elderly. While that’s of course true, it’s equally relevant to consider the benefit payments in the context of guarding against poverty, and not just old-age poverty. For perspective, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) reports that in 2024, Social Security benefit payments kept 23.5 million people above the federal poverty level. About three-quarters of that figure were seniors, the remainder including beneficiaries age 18 to 64 and over a million children.
Newseek reporter Aliss Higham provides a deeper analysis of the CBPP data in a post on their website yesterday. Her article contrasts the degree of poverty in America without Social Security benefits and illustrates how widespread the poverty problem would be. For an appreciation for Social Security’s impact in this area, click here.
With Social Security facing a financial catastrophe about six years from now, these statistics add a new level of focus on the importance of addressing the looming insolvency problem sooner rather than later. Undoubedly, reaching full depletion of trust fund reserves and absorbing the projected reductions would significantly exacerbate the poverty problem.