Improving Poverty Rates in Retirement
There is a special safety net in place to make sure that there is a minimum amount you can collect from Social Security. At the moment this minimum is so low that it is largely irrelevant due to how it is calculated compared to how normal benefits are. There are advocates on both sides of the aisle to raise these minimum benefits and restructure how they are calculated so that they keep up more closely with the rate of inflation. These minimum benefits are meant to keep seniors out of poverty levels in retirement. There are certain milestones you must meet in order to become eligible for these benefits, but as of right now if you hit these mile stones then your normal Social Security benefits will most assuredly still be higher. Unfortunately, this is leaving many retirees under the poverty line. For more information visit this article by Matthew Frankel with The Motley Fool.