The Estimated Social Security Benefit for the Average American Earning $30,000 a Year
Social Security is a critical program for millions of senior citizens that helps ensure they can meet their financial obligations during retirement. More than 42 million retired workers were receiving a monthly benefit check from the Social Security Administration (SSA) as of July 2017, and according to SSA data, better than three out of five of these retirees were reliant on their monthly stipend to account for at least half of their income. This social program is simply that important.
Another reason for Social Security's importance is the poor saving habits of working Americans. St. Louis Federal Reserve data from July found that workers were saving just 3.5% of their earned income on an adjusted annual basis, which is less than a third of the 12.5% that they were socking away 50 years ago in July 1967.
Saving less means having to do more with what they do save, and with an all-time record number of Americans not invested in the stock market per Gallup, many seniors' nest eggs are coming up short during retirement. This is leading to a consistently high level of dependence on Social Security, despite the SSA guiding workers to expect the program to replace just 40% of your working wages during retirement.
Source: Fool.com
