Millions of American seniors wait each month for their new Social Security benefits, as it is a vital financial source of income to pay essential expenses such as housing, food, healthcare, transportation, and entertainment, among others. That is why Social Security is more than just a retirement program; it offers people a base income around which to build their retirement plans.
Social Security financial programs also offer vital disability insurance and life insurance protection for American workers with health issues and dependents who have lost their primary breadwinners. What is even more remarkable is that eighty-seven years after President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act on August 14, 1935, it remains one of the country’s most successful, effective, and popular programs.
Social Security’s value to American seniors
In February 2023, around 66 million Americans, or one in every five citizens of the United States, received Social Security benefits. About four out of five beneficiaries are elderly, while the remaining five beneficiaries were either young survivors of deceased workers or recipients of Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI).
Based on the March 2022 Current Population Survey, around 4 out of 10 people aged 65 and older would have incomes below the poverty level if they were not receiving Social Security benefits. These figures demonstrate that nearly 15 million American seniors are lifted out of poverty by Social Security income.
A significant study on retirement income from the U.S. Census Bureau, which compares Census estimates with administrative data, claims that American seniors who rely on Social Security may be overstated in official figures. According to the report, in 2012, nearly 10 million older people were lifted out of poverty by Social Security, and three out of ten would have been impoverished without it. Whatever the metric used, it is evident that Social Security significantly lowers the poverty rate and raises millions of American seniors beyond the federal poverty threshold.
March Social Security payment dates confirmed for American seniors
Retirees who applied before May 1997
- March 1st: Payments are usually sent on the 3rd of March, but since this month falls on a Sunday, checks arrive on the 1st of March.
Retirees who applied after May 1997
- March 13th (2nd Wednesday): Beneficiaries with birth dates between the 1st and 10th.
- March 20th (3rd Wednesday): Beneficiaries with birth dates between the 11th and 20th.
- March 27th (4th Wednesday): Beneficiaries with birth dates between the 21st and 31st.
The primary retirement income source for most American seniors
The Social Security Administration (SSA) combined survey data and administrative data to conclude that in 2015, Social Security benefits provided at least 50% of retirees’ income and at least 90% of their income for one in every seven. As a result, these statistics demonstrate that Social Security is the primary source of income for the vast majority of beneficiaries.
Furthermore, except for a small percentage of the highest-income group, most retirees have modest incomes. The U.S. Census Bureau survey indicates that the majority of American seniors from low-income families have very little, if any, pension income, while the majority of retired households in the lowest income distribution did not get any pension income. The SSA survey also found that in 2015, about half of these households made less than $50,000, and about one in four had less than $20,000.
Women are among the most benefited
Women tend to earn less compared to men, as they take longer time off from paid employment, live longer, save less, and receive smaller pensions; these factors make Social Security particularly essential to them. Women account for more than half of Social Security beneficiaries in their 60s and seven in ten in their 90s. In addition, women account for 95 percent of Social Security survivors.
Due to their tendency to outlive men, women are disproportionately benefited by the program’s inflation-protected payments, progressive benefit computation mechanism, benefits for spouses and survivors, and progressive benefit structure.