Newsweek recently wrote about a big drop in the number of people in the US getting Social Security benefits. Even though more baby boomers are reaching retirement age, the number of people getting certain types of Social Security benefits each month is going down, according to the Social Security Administration.
Supplemental Security Income, or SSI, is a program that helps older people and people with disabilities who have little or no income.
Around 200,000 people decrease in beneficiaries receiving Social Security benefits
The most recent SSI numbers show that 7.43 million Americans got money in January. By October, that number had dropped to 7.41 million, which is a drop of about 200,000 people.
Alex Beene, a financial literacy teacher at the University of Tennessee at Martin, says that overall, fewer people are applying for and getting Social Security disability benefits. Beene also told Newsweek that the rising cost of living and more welcoming workplaces made by companies that want to hire more people might be factors.
There are more Baby Boomers retiring, but there are also more seniors who want to work a few more years instead of getting their benefits. Social Security used to be seen as a great way to save money for retirement, but now most Americans’ costs have skyrocketed, which is why some are choosing to skip or delay getting their payments.
Michael Ryan, who made michaelryanmoney.com and is an expert on money, says there are several reasons for the change. Baby boomers are retiring right now, but many of them are changing their minds and working “encore careers” well into their late 60s and early 70s.
Ryan told Newsweek that improvements in healthcare and lifestyle choices are making people not only live longer but also carry on working for longer. Most people who are 65 years old will probably live another 20 years, which means that there will be a huge number of jobs available for them
. Contrary to what most people think about retirement, some seniors still work from home or in flexible consulting roles. There are also financial benefits to putting off retirement. That is when your Social Security check will be bigger.
Those who choose to retire at age 70 will also get the most money each month, which is $4,873. On the other hand, people who retired in 2024 at age 62 get only $2,710 a year.
The Social Security Administration is having trouble getting enough money, even though fewer people are getting SSI benefits. A lot of people think that the money for full payouts will run out by the early 2030s if nothing changes.
Ryan says the message to policymakers is clear: old ways of thinking about retirement do not work anymore. For an older population, we need new ways to teach people about money, help them get social services, and help them join the workforce.
Social Security will have a new commissioner
Frank Bisignano has been chosen by President-elect Donald Trump to be the commissioner of the Social Security Administration. Bisignano is the CEO of the financial services company Fiserv.
He has a track record of making big companies better, and it will be his job to keep the agency’s promise to the American people. Trump said that Bisignano was a great leader and that he could change big companies like Citigroup and JP Morgan Chase. He will be in charge of Fiserv for a very long time.
If the Senate confirms Bisignano, he will be in charge of making sure that Social Security continues after 2035, when the trust fund may run out.
During his campaign, Trump promised not to cut benefits for more than 67 million elderly or disabled Americans. However, he did not make any legislative suggestions to make sure the program would continue. Trump praised Bisignano’s track record of leading financial services firms through big changes.
Also See :- These are the 3 most important changes to Social Security by 2025 – They are official now