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15th July 2016, 05:14 PM
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-column-miller-socialsecuritykids-idUSKCN0ZU1OF
A study released this week underscores the importance of Social Security’s multigenerational impact - in particular, the program’s outsized impact on poverty rates among children of color.
Nine percent of all American children under age 18 benefited from Social Security in 2014 either directly or indirectly, according to research by the Center for Global Policy Solutions (CGPS), a nonprofit research and advocacy group. That translates to approximately 6.4 million children - and it was equivalent to 11 percent of all Social Security beneficiaries.
Social Security Administration data shows that 3.2 million children received Social Security benefits directly in 2014, usually as the surviving dependent of a deceased parent or guardian (43 percent) or a disabled worker (42 percent). The remaining 15 percent were children of retirees.
But the CGPS study went further, using additional federal data sources to measure the number of children who live in extended families that receive Social Security. That wider lens reveals the aforementioned figure - 6.4 million children.
The study underscores Social Security’s importance in fighting poverty rates, especially in households of color. These rates are far too high already, and would soar to stunning levels in the absence of Social Security benefits. CGPS found that 40 percent of African-American children live in poverty - a figure that would jump to 58 percent without Social Security. In Latino households, 28 percent of children live in poverty; the figure would be 45 percent absent Social Security.
And reliance on Social Security in minority households is on the rise. The number of indirect child beneficiaries in Latino households, for example, rose by 42 percent on average annually between 2001 and 2014.
“We often talk about Social Security reform in the context of retirement,” says Maya Rockeymoore, CEO of CGPS. “The fact of the matter is that skews our understanding of who the program serves. Social Security serves people of all ages, from birth to death - and the number of dependent children is too often ignored.”
DEBATE SHIFT
The takeaway here: Social Security is a multi-generational program, so do not believe the zero-sum game arguments that often are raised in the context of Social Security reform discussions.
A study released this week underscores the importance of Social Security’s multigenerational impact - in particular, the program’s outsized impact on poverty rates among children of color.
Nine percent of all American children under age 18 benefited from Social Security in 2014 either directly or indirectly, according to research by the Center for Global Policy Solutions (CGPS), a nonprofit research and advocacy group. That translates to approximately 6.4 million children - and it was equivalent to 11 percent of all Social Security beneficiaries.
Social Security Administration data shows that 3.2 million children received Social Security benefits directly in 2014, usually as the surviving dependent of a deceased parent or guardian (43 percent) or a disabled worker (42 percent). The remaining 15 percent were children of retirees.
But the CGPS study went further, using additional federal data sources to measure the number of children who live in extended families that receive Social Security. That wider lens reveals the aforementioned figure - 6.4 million children.
The study underscores Social Security’s importance in fighting poverty rates, especially in households of color. These rates are far too high already, and would soar to stunning levels in the absence of Social Security benefits. CGPS found that 40 percent of African-American children live in poverty - a figure that would jump to 58 percent without Social Security. In Latino households, 28 percent of children live in poverty; the figure would be 45 percent absent Social Security.
And reliance on Social Security in minority households is on the rise. The number of indirect child beneficiaries in Latino households, for example, rose by 42 percent on average annually between 2001 and 2014.
“We often talk about Social Security reform in the context of retirement,” says Maya Rockeymoore, CEO of CGPS. “The fact of the matter is that skews our understanding of who the program serves. Social Security serves people of all ages, from birth to death - and the number of dependent children is too often ignored.”
DEBATE SHIFT
The takeaway here: Social Security is a multi-generational program, so do not believe the zero-sum game arguments that often are raised in the context of Social Security reform discussions.