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Social
Security is worth $225,000 for a typical
Retiree…Experts assess the value to Retirees, working families, and communities
of color
WASHINGTON, Jan. 31 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/
-- For most Americans, the value of their
Social Security is the biggest accumulation
of dollars they will take into retirement.
In fact, for two-thirds
of recipients over the age of 65, Social
Security is more than half of their income
during retirement, according to a new report
released today by the non-partisan National
Academy of Social Insurance (NASI).
The report, Social
Security: An Essential Asset and Insurance
Protection for All, details Social
Security's vital role in safeguarding
Americans families and retirees, with a
particular focus on groups at high risk of
having inadequate incomes -- older women,
African American families, and the Latino
community.
The report synthesizes
findings from research and outreach
activities by twelve organizations funded by
the Ford Foundation.
The average monthly
benefit for retirees is $1,045 in 2007. A
65-year old who wanted to buy a guaranteed
income of that size -- with payments that go
up with the cost of living and continue for
a widowed spouse -- would need to pay an
insurance company about $225,000.
And it's not just
retirees who benefit from Social Security's
protection. Although 69% of Social Security
benefits go to retired persons, 17% go to
disabled workers and their families, and
another 14% to goes survivors.
The value of the
disability benefits for disabled workers --
those who cannot work at any job for at
least a year because of physical or mental
illness and impairments -- was the
equivalent of purchasing a $414,000
disability insurance policy in 2006.
That represents the
total benefits available to a 30-year old
worker who becomes disabled after earning
between $25,000 and $30,000 a year, has a 28
year-old spouse, a child age two and an
infant under the age of one.
Social Security also
provides life insurance protection to
millions of workers. Benefits are paid to
survivors of deceased workers and their
dependents. The value of the life insurance
protection is worth $433,000 for the young
family described above.
Social Security is
particularly important to retirees in
communities of color.
Among all beneficiaries
65 and older, 42% of single persons and 22%
of married couples relied on Social Security
for almost all (90% or more) of their income
in 2006.
Among
African-Americans, the figures were 54% for
single persons and 33% for married couples.
Among Latinos, the
figures were 62% for single persons and 37%
for married couples.
Among Asian Americans
and Pacific Islanders, the figures were 55%
for single persons and 27% for married
couples.
Among Indians and
Alaskan Natives, the figures were 61% for
single persons and 25% for married couples.
The report is based on
a July 11, 2007, meeting in New York at the
Ford Foundation headquarters. The National
Academy of Social Insurance (NASI) prepared
the report. NASI is a non-partisan,
non-profit organization dealing with Social
Security, Medicare, and other social
insurance programs.
Its mission is to
promote understanding and informed
policymaking on social insurance through
research, public education, training, and
the open exchange of ideas.
Organizations working
with grants from the Ford Foundation
reported their research and outreach
activities on Social Security at the
meeting. The organizations include: the
Center for Policy Research on Aging, UCLA;
the Center for Retirement Research at Boston
College; the Center on Budget and Policy
Priorities; the Employee Benefit Research
Institute; Global Justice Now; the Institute
for Women's Policy Research; the Joint
Center for Political and Economic Studies;
the National Council of Negro Women; the
National Council of La Raza; the Peterson
Institute for International Economics; the
Urban Institute; and NASI.
Source:
National Academy of Social Insurance
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