If you cannot think of any other reason to vote this year, please vote on the vital update of Social Security.
Thanks largely to Social Security (S.S.), since 1938 people have been living longer. For most Millennials, thinking about retirement is not as urgent as it is for people who currently receive S.S. payouts. But several facts give pause to that generational disconnect:
1. S.S. was never intended to be the sole component of a retirement plan. Yet many people have become reliant on S.S. for all of their income, including 44.7 percent of Americans of Hispanic ancestry and 42.2 percent of Americans of African ancestry over age 55.
2. The 76.4 million-member Baby Boom generation is retiring and will become dependent on S.S. at levels that have never been peaked. Additionally, the Millennial generation, larger than the Baby Boom generation, will be dependent on S.S. at higher levels due to less retirement savings caused by student loans and the economic collapse early in their careers.
3. With the S.S. trust fund projected to be depleted between 2033 and 2042, the program will be able to pay only 77 percent of its bills in 2033. If we do not act now, soon all individuals’ S.S. funds could be cut by $10,000 a year.
In 2016, AARP is proactively sponsoring Take A Stand On Social Security, the nonpartisan, nonprofit, grassroots effort of mobilizing citizens to engage officials and candidates for action on S.S. We are youths, retirees, professionals, parents, and students who are organizing voters to call or write their U.S. Representative and Senators to demand they commit to act on S.S. You may not agree with what type of action certain officials or candidates believe is best, but our cause is to build the momentum for acting in 2017.
For your friends’ and neighbors’ social stability, and that of the Millennial generation, please call Congressman Steve Stivers this week at 740-654-2654 and urge him for action on S.S. while he still can make a positive difference. Tell Stivers not to allow each citizen to lose $10,000 a year in their hard-earned funds.
Visit 2016TakeAStand.org to learn the S.S. positions of the presidential candidates. Remember to research the records and professed positions of all candidates before voting.
Christopher Myers is an AARP Field Organizer in Cincinnati and an alumnus of Ohio University where he earned a baccalaureate degree in Philosophy.
