Social Security is a lifeline: In 1935, after bank failures and a stock market crash had wiped out the savings of millions of Americans, the nation turned to Washington to guarantee the elderly a decent income. In those days, only a handful of workers had access to pensions from their employers or through State governmental pension programs.

Social Security is one of America’s most effective and efficient intergenerational social insurance programs. Yet opponents of the current system want to force very large cuts in existing Social Security benefits.

Federal programs that support income security and health are often mistakenly characterized interchangeably. From television pundits to average citizens, we often hear someone refer to Medicaid when they mean Medicare; Supplemental Security Income benefits are often confused with Social Security benefits.

On March 1, 2011, the Federal Government began requiring new federal benefit recipients to collect there monthly benefit via direct deposit. Recipients whose benefits started before that date will be able to continue getting paper checks until May 1, 2013.

While Social Security is a program that is vitally important to all Americans, it is especially important to the financial security of women. There are a number of reasons why this is so. First of all, women live longer than men. On average, women today who reach age 65 outlive men by four years. These additional years of longevity increase the risk that women may outlive their savings or that their pensions may lose their purchasing power.

As Congress and the American people debate the future of Social Security, it is critical to remember that, unlike private retirement plans, Social Security has broader policy goals than merely providing retirement benefits. This fact often tends to be overlooked by those who want to restructure the program through privatization.

Social Security protects families in the event that a worker retires, becomes disabled or dies. These guaranteed insurance benefits are especially crucial to people of color who tend to have fewer alternative resources, become disabled at higher rates, and disproportionately rely on Social Security's family benefit features. Social Security provides many elderly African Americans with their sole or primary source of income in retirement. Today's African-American workers are concentrated in low-wage jobs that typically lack pension coverage. African Americans experience high poverty and underemployment, and have less ability to save and invest for retirement than most other Americans. 

Social Security protects families in the event that a worker retires, becomes disabled or dies. These guaranteed insurance benefits are especially crucial to people of color who tend to have fewer alternative resources, become disabled at higher rates, and rely on Social Security's family benefit features disproportionately. Social Security provides many elderly Hispanics with their sole or primary source of income in retirement. Today's Hispanic workers are concentrated in low-wage jobs that typically lack pension coverage. Hispanics experience high poverty and underemployment, and have less ability to save and invest for retirement than most other Americans.