As Social Security approaches its 75th anniversary on Saturday, the program is playing an especially vital role in reducing poverty across America during the worst economic crisis since the Great Recession. If benefits were to be significantly cut, 19.8 million more Americans would be thrust in poverty, according to a recent report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. In addition to supporting the elderly, Social Security is currently keeping more than 1 million children and more than 5 million adults below the age of 65 above the poverty line.
Cuts to Social Security would be especially devastating for older women, the report shows. While 11.9 percent of women over the age of 65 are currently below the poverty line, nearly half of them would be poor if they no longer received benefits.
