Social Security is NOT in Crisis. What the 2010 Trustees Report Says About It

Social Security is not in crisis and is not bankrupt. According to the annual report authored by the Board of Trustees for Social Security released last week, Social Security will have a surplus of $77 billion by the end of this year. Furthermore, annual surpluses are projected to continue until 2025. That’s the good news. The purpose of this report is to provide a “heads up” to policy makers on the solvency of Social Security. For some time now, the Trustees have stated that reform is needed to ensure full benefits are paid in the future.

After 2025, the Trustees project that the Social Security trust fund will begin to spend down over the span of 12 years and be completely spent by 2037. However, this does not mean that Social Security will be bankrupt because workers will still pay into the system. What this does mean is that if Congress does not act in the next 27 years to shore up additional Social Security revenue, beneficiaries will receive 78% of promised benefits. So, that’s the not -so -good news.

But reform options can be enacted to ensure that benefits remain solvent for future generations, such as raising the Social Security cap on who is taxed to 90% of wages as was done in 1977. Currently, 82% of wages are taxed for Social Security.

Wider Opportunites for Women (WOW) and other national and state organizations call on Congress to act now to strengthen Social Security and address Social Security’s solvency over the long-term. And we are not the only ones: Americans across the country and across party-lines value Social Security and want it to be there for them. According to a National Academy of Social Insurance/Rockefeller poll, 87% of Americans do not mind paying for Social Security because of the security and stability it provides to others.

In celebration of Social Security’s 75th birthday, Wider Opportuities for Women (WOW) created several materials for advocates, including a birthday card to send to Congress. Tell your Representative how important Social Security is to you and your family by mailing them a card.


Wider Opportunities for Women (WOW) is blogging throughout the month about the importance of Social Security to an elder's ability to age in place. This is the second blog of the month-long series.

Don't be Fooled! Raising the Retirement Age is a Benefit Cut!

Yesterday, I attended a Hill briefing, hosted by the National Council of Women’s Organizations' (NCWO)  Older Women Economic Security Taskforce (OWES) on why raising the Social Security retirement age (again) is a bad idea. Proponents of this bad idea think it will encourage older workers to work longer and further the solvency of Social Security. The reality, however, is that raising the retirement age is a benefit cut for current and future retirees and negatively affects their ability to be economically secure. Furthermore, many older workers are not collecting benefits early because they want or choose to. In this economy older workers are being laid off and are unable to find jobs, and end up collecting benefits before full retirement age because they have to.

Here’s how raising the retirement age is a benefit cut as explained in the Raising the Social Security Age is Dangerous white paper, co-authored by Wider Opportunities for Women (WOW).

“If your benefit at age 66 is $1,000 a month but Congress raises the retirement age to 67, then you would have to wait one year to collect $1,000 a month. This means you would lose a year of collecting full benefits and lose again because instead of receiving $1,080 a month at age 67 your benefit would be just $1,000.”

The increased monthly payment of $1,080 is a result of the annual Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA).

WOW’s Elder Economic Security Standard Index (Elder Index) further shows that current average annual Social Security benefits are not enough to make ends meet. An elder renter needs $20,326 a year while the average Social Security benefit is just $12,526 for women and $16,572 for men. As costs for basic needs continue to rise, benefit cuts would hurt an elder’s ability to age in place with dignity.

Social Security should be strengthened, not cut. Instead of looking for ways to cut benefits, Congress should look for ways to shore up more funds for this critical program that so many depend on.


In celebration of Social Security's 75th birthday, Wider Opportunities for Women (WOW) is blogging throughout the month about the importance of this program to an elder's ability to age in place. This is the first blog of the month-long series.

WOW Celebrates Medicare's 45th Birthday

Last week, in recognition of Medicare's 45th Birthday, Wider Opportunities for Women (WOW) released a press statement supporting the strengthening of Medicare through the Affordable Care Act. Stacy Sanders, Director of the Elder Economic Security Initiative, also blogged on the Huffington Post on the importance of Medicare to an elders' economic security in retirement.

Be sure to check them out and comment on the blog!

White House Backs Paycheck Fairness Act

This week, Wider Opportunities for Women (WOW) and other women’s organizations met with Vice President Biden and other Administration officials about the importance of equal pay to the economic security of women and their families. Additionally, the White House hosted a call on Women and the Economy to reinforce the importance of passing the Paycheck Fairness Act (S. 182 / H.R. 12) and to share steps the Administration is taking to help with work-family balance. The Paycheck Fairness Act has already passed in the House and the President and Vice President urged the Senate to pass the bill before the August recess. The legislation once made law will equip women to advocate for fair pay in the workforce without fear of retaliation.

WOW joins with the Administration in urging the Senate to pass this legislation. For too long, women have been paid less for equal work, inhibiting many of them to make ends meet and care for their families. This aggregate affect of earning less in the workforce year after year, in combination with many women leaving the workforce intermittently for caregiving responsibilities, means women, on average, earn $413,000 less than men over a 40-year career. Depending upon where you live the number can fluctuate tremendously. According to the Center for American Progress, the wage gap for a college-educated woman in Virginia is more than $1 million over a 40-year career.

Consequently, in retirement women receive less Social Security benefits and must stretch their limited income farther in late life. As the Elder Economic Security Standard™ Index (Elder Index) shows, Social Security is not enough to make it in retirement. The Paycheck Fairness Act supports women in their working years to allow them a better chance at a secure retirement.

A calendar of events, starting in mid-August, is available to help you advocate for passage of the Paycheck Fairness Act. Let’s work together to make sure women finally receive equal pay for equal work!


-Alisha Howell
Communications & Program Coordinator
Elder Economic Security Initiative

MinnEESI Update

The Minnesota Women’s Consortium, the state lead of the Minnesota Elder Economic Security Initiative (MinnEESI), has been busy these past few months planning a forum on the economic security of older women in the state. This week all of their hard work came to fruition and the Minnesota Women’s Consortium co-hosted the forum with the Office on the Economic Status of Women (OESW). Advocates and experts in aging from across the St. Paul area participated in a morning discussion on the findings of a new OESW report.

Findings from the report include:

• Among retired workers, monthly benefits averaged just $1,001 for women.
• Over half of U.S. women workers age 65 and over earned less than $35,000 in 2007. Just one-third of their male counterparts earned less than $35,000.
• According to the Minnesota Elder Index, median income for older women is just $12,691.

For more information about the event and the findings, read the full report and press release. You can also listen to the audio version of the forum.



- Alisha Howell
Communications & Program Coordinator
Elder Economic Security Initiative

WOW Remembers Dr. Robert Butler

Wider Opportunities for Women (WOW) recognizes the life and accomplishments of Dr. Robert Butler who passed away this week at the age of 83.

In the world of aging, few people made their mark like Dr. Butler. Throughout his adult life he advocated on behalf of all elders and educated the public on the many facets of aging and why he regarded it as a positive thing.

Most notably, Dr. Butler coined the term “ageism” to describe the discrimination of elders. Additionally, he led a critical study on aging, which concluded that aging is not the cause of elder-prone health issues, such as Alzheimer’s disease, but simply a risk factor. He also helped develop one of the first gerontology institutes at the college level and established the National Institute on Aging.

Dr. Butler’s efforts are a reminder of the importance of elder advocates and the continued study of elders’ physical and mental health and economic well-being. The Elder Economic Security Initiative and its tool the Elder Index aim to provide elders and their families with the information they need to be economically secure and age in place with dignity. The work of Dr. Butler will continue to influence how our organization and those around the world work to provide elders with a better way of life.

-Alisha Howell
Communications & Program Coordinator
Elder Economic Security Initiative

CLASS Act is a Good First Step

Panelists at the 2010 National Dialogue on Long Term Care discussed the challenges associated with the rapidly growing older population, including the skyrocketing costs of long-term care, Medicare and Medicaid. This issue is of great importance because the population 85 years and older is growing at 3% rate, while the general population only grows at a rate of 1%. And those age 85 and older are more likely to need long-term care services and supports.

This event highlighted the problems associated with elders in poor health; however, in reality, millions of elders, even those in good health, struggle to make ends meet. According to national averages of the Elder Economic Security Standard™ Index (Elder Index), developed by Wider Opportunities for Women and the Gerontology Institute at the University of Massachusetts Boston, a single woman renter requires about $20,000 annually for basic needs, not including the cost of long-term care. In fact, long-term care costs can double or even triple what an elder needs to age in place, according to the Elder Index. In Michigan, for example, adding a low level of home and community-based long-term care for one person costs an extra $7,100 on average per year. The highest level of care can add up to $43,600 to living costs.

On the policy front, the staggering cost of long-term care has been addressed, in part, by the CLASS. Act, signed into law earlier this year as part of health care reform. The provisions of CLASS will establish a voluntary long-term care insurance system that today’s workers can pay into for their future long-term care needs.

While the passage of CLASS is an important step forward, there’s still much that needs to be done as the program is put into practice. First, to be successful, employers need to offer the benefit and actively educate their employees about the importance of staying enrolled. Second, employees must recognize how the CLASS benefit can help them afford long-term care services and supports. The Elder Index provides a useful tool for educating both of these audiences about the staggering cost of home and community-based long-term care. The Elder Index makes clear why programs, like CLASS, must be available to help disabled workers and elders afford long-term care.

- Kelly Stellrecht
Field & Program Associate
Elder Economic Security Initiative