By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-11-23 20:26:34 | Updated at 2024-11-25 00:33:54
1 day ago
If Americans were to live on Social Security alone, the funds would run out in just a week in some major cities.
That is according to new data from GOBankingRates, which analyzed how many days the average Social Security check would last a married couple each month across 50 cities.
The benefits could stretch up to 19 days at the very most, but would run out in less than 10 days in six densely populated cities.
In none of the 50 cities in the study would a couple be able to survive for an entire month until the arrival of the next payment.
The study lays bare how high inflation and rising living costs are taking a toll on seniors living on a fixed income - and making it impossible for millions to rely on Social Security alone.
It comes as the future of the benefits program remains unknown.
Millions of Americans are waiting to see if President-elect Donald Trump follows through on his campaign promise to cut taxes on Social Security benefits.
But experts have warned that the cut would come at a price for the struggling finances of the program, which is currently due to run short on funds by 2035.
Meanwhile, lawmakers have just six weeks to get a bipartisan bill which overhauls parts of the program through the Senate and to President Joe Biden's desk for him to sign it.
According to GOBankingRates, Social Security runs out in less than a week in Irvine, California - the quickest of any major city.
In Irvine, which is notoriously expensive, the benefits would run out in just 6.73 days.
This is followed by Fremont, California, where they would run dry in 7.02 days, San Jose, where Social Security would run out in 7.5 days and San Francisco, where the funds would only last 7.91 days.
In fact, seven Californian cities - also including San Diego, Los Angeles and Anaheim - are in the top 10 cities where Social Security would run out the quickest for the average couple.
Fourth on the list is Honolulu, Hawaii, where the benefits would run dry in 9.59 days, according to the study.
On the other end of the spectrum, a monthly Social Security check would last 19.38 days in Saint Petersburg, Florida - the longest time of the cities analyzed.
In Madison, Wisconsin, the funds would last 19.20 days, and in Chesapeake, Virginia, they would stretch for 19.17 days.
For its analysis, GOBankingRates used the average Social Security benefits for a married couple in each city, which it sourced from the Social Security Administration from August 2024.
It then used data from ranking site Sperling's Best Places in order to determine the cost of living in each place.
Starting in 2025, the average retired workers' benefit will be around $1,976 a month.
This is because the Social Security Administration will hike benefits by 2.5 percent in January.
This uplift, known as the cost-of-living adjustment, is based on the rate of inflation.
But since inflation has begun to slow in recent months, it is the lowest yearly increase since 2021.
Older Americans and senior groups have expressed their disappointment at the raise, which they say does not reflect their changing expenses after years of high inflation and price hikes.
In Irvine, which is notoriously expensive, the benefits would run out in just 6.73 days
Starting in 2025, the average retired workers' benefit will be around $1,976 a month
The GOBankingRates study lays bare how high inflation and rising living costs are taking a toll on seniors living on a fixed income - and making it impossible for millions to rely on Social Security alone
Millions of Americans will be waiting to see if Donald Trump follows through on his campaign promise to cut taxes on Social Security benefits
The study comes as economists have warned that Trump's plans for Social Security could weaken the solvency of the program, adding to its existing funding issues.
He has pledged to cut taxes on Social Security benefits, which around 40 percent of retirees currently pay.
Just eliminating the tax on Social Security benefits, without making any other changes to the program in order to make up for that loss in revenues, would cut into its already dwindling finances, experts warn.
Trump's plans would make Social Security insolvent in six years, according to the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.
That is three years sooner than existing forecasts.
At that time, beneficiaries would see across-the-board cuts to benefits, which are relied on by millions of Americans.
'We find President Trump's campaign proposals would dramatically worsen Social Security's finances,' the CRFB budget group said in a blog post last month.
Any changes to the program would require at least 60 Senate votes.
'It's hard for me to imagine that Democrats would be willing to provide votes to get over that 60-vote threshold and weaken Social Security solvency,' Charles Blahous, senior research strategist at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, who has also served as a public trustee for Social Security and Medicare, told CNBC.
'I think a lot of Republicans would have heartburn about it, too,' he said.
