Why Raising the Retirement Age Would Hurt African Americans

Retirement age coverby Elvis Guzman and Nakia Gladden

Social Security is an essential social insurance program that provides economic security for U.S. workers and their families in retirement, in case of disability or death of a breadwinner. The program protects families from falling into poverty, and is especially important to vulnerable families that do not have the necessary income or savings to get by.

Continue reading

African American Retirement Insecurity

African American retirement insecurity

by Elvis Guzman and Madhulika Vulimiri

African American retirees have significantly less wealth and lower incomes than White retirees. Eighty-three percent of African American seniors lack the retirement assets they need to last the remainder of their lifetimes.

Continue reading

Confidence About Financial Security at Retirement: Perspectives of African Americans and White Americans

Confidence About Financial Security at Retirement thumbnailBy: Wilhelmina A. Leigh, Ph.D. and Melissa R. Wells

This fall 2012 poll from the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies finds that, although more than half of both African Americans and white Americans are ‘very or somewhat’ confident that they will be financially secure during retirement, this financial security may not become reality. Continue reading

Solvency and Adequacy for the Social Security System: Perspectives of African Americans and White Americans

Solvency and Adequacy for the Social Security System thumbnailBy: Wilhelmina A. Leigh, Ph.D. and Melissa R. Wells

This 2012 poll conducted by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies finds that majorities of black Americans and white Americans hold the same views about proposals that would foster solvency and proposals that would improve benefit adequacy within the Social Security system. Continue reading