Money: Millions of American Kids Actually Depend on Social Security

This Money column focuses on Social Security’s anti-poverty effect, especially for households of color, which we documented in our report.

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.

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“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.”