Latinos Concerned About Social Security Cuts

A town hall forum held this week brought together Latino seniors and community leaders from the Inland Empire who are concerned that the U.S. Congress may reduce Social Security benefits that they rely on for most of their income and health care. 

The town hall held Nov. 1 in Perris was hosted by the Training Occupational Development Educating Communities Legal Center, National Council of La Raza, AARP, and the Latinos for a Secure Retirement. Dubbed the “Latinos and Social Security ¡Tu Futuro Cuenta!” campaign, the event featured Perris Mayor Daryl Busch and experts on the Social Security program.

“As the nation anticipates the recommendations of a congressional super committee charged with negotiating a long-term solution for the federal budget, there is growing concern about the potential effects of cuts made to programs like Social Security that help keep millions of people out of poverty,” according to a news release from the National Council of La Raza. 

“Social Security has always paid its own way and is expected to do so in the decades ahead. Its promise, which is so critical to millions of retirees, low income workers and their families, should not be threatened by those that want to use it as a piggy bank for the current national deficit,” said Robert Prath, member of the California State Executive Council and National Policy Council of AARP.

According to National Council of La Raza stats, in Riverside County Social Security contributes $4 billion annually to the local economy by paying benefits to 306,080 county residents, including 205,820 retirees, 38,640 disabled workers, and 23,655 children. 

“Social Security serves five million residents in California and prevents 1.1 million from living in poverty,” according to the National Council of La Raza news release. “Latino seniors are particularly vulnerable to cuts and changes because Social Security benefits represent nearly all of their income. While Social Security’s progressive benefit formula favors low-wage workers, Hispanic seniors receive the lowest average benefits due to lower lifetime earnings. Average yearly benefits for Hispanic seniors are only $12,213 for men and just $9,536 for women. More than half of Latino seniors rely on Social Security for at least 90 percent of their income.”

“Many people we serve in our community rely on Social Security for all of their income and they are barely surviving,” said Luz Maria Ayala, executive director of the TODEC Legal Center.

“Social Security has been vital for our nation’s seniors, disabled workers, and family members for 76 years. We must take steps to ensure that this program is there and made stronger for future generations of workers who will be more diverse in terms of race and ethnicity,” said Leticia Miranda, associate director of NCLR’s Employment and Economic Policy Project. 

The speakers also noted that older Hispanics are more likely than other seniors to access Medicare with the support of Medicaid, and may experience the worst of the repercussions from proposals to reduce the federal deficit by cutting these programs and Social Security benefits.

The Perris forum was the fifth in a series being held across the country as part of the “Latinos and Social Security, ¡Tu Futuro Cuenta!” campaign.