Social Security Lives!
The poll results released Monday, April 18, by the Siena Research Institute, confirm the public’s anxiety and uncertainty over the future of their retirement.
Unfortunately, this concern about their retirement security has also left the public open to believing dire predictions about the future of Social Security.
It’s findings like these that have prompted AARP to call for a national conversation about the future of Social Security. Part of that conversation has to address the facts that often get lost in the debate about the program’s future.
According to the Congressional Budget Office, Social Security can pay full benefits for over 25 years. And, even if nothing is done, Social Security will be able to pay approximately 75 percent of benefits for the remainder of the century – hardly the “bankruptcy” many have been led to believe is imminent. However, even that shortfall is unacceptable.
Through a national conversation, lawmakers should be able to agree on a package of gradual, moderate changes that will put Social Security on stable ground so future generations can get the benefits they’ve worked for.
Based on our own AARP NY survey released earlier this year, we know there is a tremendous gap between how important New Yorkers age 50+ believe it is to be prepared for retirement and their confidence in being able to meet their own needs.
Of those New Yorkers 50+, 61 percent say they are not confident that their children’s generation will be better than it has been for them. We invite readers to join the conversation at www.aarp.org/conversation.
McNally is interim New York State AARP director.
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