Social Security WorkS for illiNoiS

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Social Security Works for ILLINOIS

www.socialsecurityworks.org

2014

Our Social Security Works for America series of reports is written for public officials, members of the press, advocates, educators and other concerned citizens. In addition to providing information about Social Security’s history, character and vitality, as well as compelling, real-life stories, each report includes statistics about the number of people who receive benefits, the types of benefits they receive and the total amount of funds flowing from these programs into every state, its congressional districts and counties. Reports are available online for all 50 states, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands. A summary report, “Social Security Works for the United States,” is also available. Please note that a one-page fact sheet summarizing the data in this report can be found at the end of the report, directly following the endnotes. For congressional district-level Social Security data, please see “Appendix 1: Social Security Works for Illinois’ Congressional Districts,” toward the back of the report, just before the endnotes. For county-level Social Security and demographic data, please see “Appendix 2: Social Security Works for Illinois’ Counties,” toward the back of the report, just before the endnotes.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Like our Social Security system, this report is the product of the foresight and hard work of many people. Social Security Works partnered closely with the Alliance for Retired Americans, which is coordinating the release of this report in Illinois. Many people shared in writing, designing and producing this, our fifth set of state reports. We are especially grateful to Benjamin Veghte, Ph.D., Research Director of Social Security Works (SSW), the lead researcher, whose commitment to excellence drove the project to its successful conclusion. Likewise, the outstanding contributions of Stephanie Connolly, SSW’s Legislative and Policy Associate, including drafting the appendices and compiling and verifying data, were crucial to its completion. Michael Phelan, SSW’s Deputy Director, and Alex Lawson, SSW’s Executive Director, managed the actual production of the report. We would like to thank Lacy Crawford, SSW’s Communications Director for assembling, sometimes writing and editing the personal stories included in all 50 state reports. Linda Benesch, Communications Associate, and Jasmine Jefferson, Legislative Associate, also helped proofread the data. Very importantly, we want to acknowledge our appreciation to Gus, Suzie, Ruby and Mike for sharing their stories and views about the importance of Social Security to their lives. Graphic design was provided by Deepika Mehta. Social Security Works also benefited from the work and commitment of several persons who provided original research and analysis for this report. We would like to thank Dr. Roberto Gallardo of the Mississippi State University Extension Service for calculating Social Security data on the metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties in each state and sharing the results of his unpublished work, as well as the Center for Rural Strategies for commissioning Dr. Gallardo’s research. Arloc Sherman, Senior Researcher, and Danilo Trisi, Research Associate, at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities generously provided access to unpublished poverty data analyzed by the Center, including the numbers of African American and Latino seniors Social Security lifted out of poverty in 2012. The data presented in this report speak volumes about the importance of Social Security to families, communities, and state and local economies. We hope the report is useful to you as you work to strengthen Social Security in this 79th anniversary year. Please contact Social Security Works Communications Director, Lacy Crawford ([email protected]), if you have questions about this report. Nancy Altman and Eric Kingson Founding Co-directors, Social Security Works; Co-chairs, Strengthen Social Security Coalition Authors of Social Security Works! Why Social Security Isn’t Going Broke and How Expanding It Will Help Us All (The New Press, January 2015), available for purchase at http://amzn.to/1uBmbce

The Alliance for Retired Americans is a grassroots organization representing more than 4 million retirees and seniors nationwide. Headquartered in Washington, DC, the Alliance’s mission is to advance public policy that protects the health and economic security of older Americans by teaching seniors how to make a difference through activism. Learn more about The Alliance and its work at www.retiredamericans.org The mission of Social Security Works is to protect and improve the economic status of all Americas, especially disadvantaged and at-risk populations, and, in so doing, to promote social justice for current and future generations of children as well as young, middle-aged and older adults. www.socialsecurityworks.org The Strengthen Social Security Coalition is made up of more than 320 national organizations and many state organizations, representing more than 50 million Americans. The Coalition is united around core principles, which include that Social Security benefits should not be cut and, instead, should be increased for those who are most disadvantaged, and the belief that our nation’s Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid systems are fundamental to the well-being of America’s families and to the type of nation we are. www.strengthensocialsecurity.org Social Security WorkS for ILLINOIS

Introduction “We can never insure one-hundred percent of the population against one-hundred percent of the hazards and vicissitudes of life. But we have tried to frame a law which will give some measure of protection to the average citizen and to his family against the loss of a job and against poverty-ridden old age. This law, too, represents a cornerstone in a structure which is being built but is by no means complete. It is a structure intended to lessen the force of possible future depressions. It will act as a protection to future Administrations against the necessity of going deeply into debt to furnish relief to the needy. The law will flatten out the peaks and valleys of deflation and of inflation. It is, in short, a law that will take care of human needs and at the same time provide for the United States an economic structure of vastly greater soundness.” —Franklin D. Roosevelt, August 14, 1935

In 1935, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law he called it a cornerstone, the foundation of a structure to be maintained and built upon by and for future generations. Social Security could not protect all Americans against every risk, but, as the President said, it could lessen the consequences of lost earnings in old age for workers and their families. Since then, we have built our Social Security structure carefully and deliberately. In 1939, we added Survivors Insurance benefits for widows and dependent children, eventually extending it to widowers as well. Disability Insurance benefits were added in 1956, followed by Medicare and Medicaid in 1965. The automatic cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) was added in 1972, designed to maintain the purchasing power of benefits no matter how long someone lives. We built, maintained and strengthened these institutions for a reason: to enable working men and women to protect themselves and their families. We built them because we, as a nation, value hard work, personal responsibility and human dignity; we care for our parents, our children, our spouses, our neighbors and ourselves. This report highlights the remarkable success of Social Security for Illinois and the nation. The numbers tell part of the story: how many people receive benefits in Illinois, in its congressional districts

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and its counties; how many dollars flow into these jurisdictions in a year; the types of benefits and the types of people who receive benefits. Perhaps more importantly, the report presents the story of hardworking Americans and their families whose lives are immeasurably better because of the protections they have earned. As you read through this report, think of the people you know. Family members who live in dignity in old age because they can count on a monthly Social Security check that they or another family member have earned. Think of that older person who has outlived his modest savings, but who, thanks to Social Security, can continue to live independently. Think of a friend’s mother, who relied on Social Security to provide for her family after she was severely disabled in a workplace accident. Think of a neighbor, whose widowed father needed Social Security to pay the bills when her mother passed away suddenly. Think, too, of how the institution of Social Security, like the nation’s highway system, is part of a rich legacy built by those who came before, a legacy that keeps working in good times and bad. Throughout the past few difficult years, Social Security has been even more vital than before for Illinois residents, and the lifeblood of many small businesses. Virtually all of the jobs our Social Security system supports stay in America.

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Social Security Works We built our Social Security system because it is the most efficient, secure, universal and fair way for Americans to replace wages in the event of death, disability, or old age. For 79 years, even as our nation has endured wars, political crises and severe economic recessions, Social Security has never missed a payment; it has paid every dollar of earned benefits, on time and in full. The importance of Social Security—the nation’s family insurance against lost wages due to old age, disability, or death—cannot be overstated. Nationwide, Social Security provided $812 billion in benefits to 58 million beneficiaries in 2013—nearly 1 in 5 (18.3 percent) Americans.1 Social Security is not just a retirement program for seniors, however. Over 17 million people under age 65 received Social Security benefits in 2013—about 3 in 10 (29.5 percent) beneficiaries.2 In fact, Social Security is the nation’s largest and, despite its modest benefits, most generous children’s program. There were about 9.2 million children receiving Social Security benefits in 2013.3 These include over 4.4 million children who received Social Security benefits directly,4 and, additionally, an estimated 4.8 million children who lived in households where all or part of the income of the household comes from Social Security.5

(DI) benefits provide 75 percent of the income or more for nearly 6 in 10 non-institutionalized beneficiaries.9 Nonetheless, 1 in 5 DI beneficiaries remains in poverty.10 Through their hard work and payroll tax contributions, nearly all American workers earn Social Security’s retirement, disability and survivorship protections for themselves and their families. Social Security is the primary disability and life insurance protection for most Illinois workers. Social Security provides a 30-year-old worker with a spouse and two young children, earning $30,000–$35,000, disability and life insurance protections worth about $583,000 and $550,000, respectively.11 Today, 210 million working Americans have earned these protections for themselves and their families.12 There is a significant chance that a worker will need these protections before she retires. Nationwide, just over 1 in 4 people who turned 20 in 2013 are projected to become severely disabled during their working years.13 An estimated 1 in 8 of today’s 20year olds will die before reaching retirement age.14 Taken together, this means that roughly 1 in 3 young adults entering the workforce today will die or become disabled before reaching the full retirement age.15

For the vast majority of beneficiaries—young and old alike—Social Security’s benefits are modest, but vital. The average Social Security benefit was $14,006 a year in 2013, and $14,777 for retired workers.6 Almost two-thirds (64.6 percent) of elderly couples and unmarried beneficiaries relied on Social Security for half of their income or more in 2012.7 The program lifted 22 million Americans out of poverty in 2012, including 1 million children.8 Social Security benefits are particularly important for disabled workers. Social Security Disability Insurance

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N

Figure 2

Figure 1

Illinois’ Social Security Beneficiaries, 2013

Poverty Rate for Illinois Beneficiaries 65+ with/without Social Security, 2010-2012 46.7%

14% Disabled Workers

43.1% 8% Widow(er)s

67% Retired Workers

4% Spouses 7% Children

10%

8.3% 65+

Women 65+

n Poverty rate without Social Security n Poverty rate with Social Security Source: Social Security Administration, 2014

Social Security Works for Illinois’ Residents and Economy • Social Security provided benefits to 2,133,829 Illinois residents in 2013, 1 in 6 (16.6 percent) residents.16 • Illinois residents received Social Security benefits totaling $31.1 billion in 2013, an amount equivalent to 5.2 percent of the state’s total personal income.17 • The average Social Security benefit in Illinois was $14,559 in 2013.18 • Social Security lifted 807,000 Illinois residents out of poverty in 2012.19

Social Security Works for Illinois’ Seniors20 • Social Security provided benefits to 1,433,504 Illinois retired workers in 2013, two-thirds (67.2 percent) of beneficiaries [Figure 1].21 • The typical benefit received by a retired worker in Illinois was $16,163 in 2013.22

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Source: Center on Budget & Policy Priorities, 2013

• Social Security lifted 585,000 Illinois residents aged 65 or older out of poverty in 2012.23 • Without Social Security, the elderly poverty rate in Illinois would have increased from 1 in 12 (8.3 percent) to 3 in 7 (43.1 percent) [Figure 2].24

Social Security Works for Illinois’ Women • Social Security provided benefits to 1,104,457 Illinois women in 2013, 1 in 6 (16.8 percent) Illinois women.25 • Social Security provided benefits to 86,047 Illinois spouses in 2013, 1 in 25 (4 percent) beneficiaries [Figure 1].26 • Social Security lifted 353,000 Illinois women aged 65 or older out of poverty in 2012.27 • Without Social Security, the poverty rate of elderly women would have increased from 1 in 10 (10 percent) to half (46.7 percent) [Figure 2].28

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Social Security Works for Illinois’ Widow(er)s • Social Security provided Survivors benefits to 164,656 Illinois widow(er)s in 2013, 1 in 13 (7.7 percent) Illinois beneficiaries [Figure 1].29 • The typical benefit received by a widow(er) in Illinois was $15,959 in 2013.30

Social Security Works for Illinois’ Workers with Disabilities31 • Social Security provided disability benefits to 291,729 Illinois workers in 2013, 1 in 7 (13.7 percent) Illinois beneficiaries [Figure 1].32 • The typical benefit received by a disabled worker beneficiary in Illinois was $12,875 in 2013.33

Social Security Works for Illinois’ Children • Social Security is the primary life and disability insurance protection for 98 percent of Illinois’ 3,023,307 children.34 • Social Security provided benefits to 157,893 Illinois children in 2013, 1 in 13 (7.4 percent) Illinois beneficiaries [Figure 1].35 • Social Security is the most important source of income for the 286,012 children living in Illinois’ grandfamilies, which are households headed by a grandparent or other relative.36

Social Security Works for Illinois’ African Americans

Gus, Wisconsin Gus was a “tunnel rat” in Vietnam—one of the volunteer Army infantrymen who specialized in entering the web of narrow tunnels created by the VietCong. The tunnel rats would kill enemy soldiers hiding there and plant explosives to destroy these underground avenues of guerilla warfare. For his service in this capacity he was awarded the Silver Star, the third highest decoration for valor given by the Army. Sixteen days after he was mustered out of the Army, he returned to his home in Wisconsin—and was in a serious car crash, sustaining a high-level spinal cord injury. Because his injury was sustained outside military service, he was not eligible for service-connected disability compensation and had to turn to Social Security Disability Insurance. “To put it quite simply,” he says, “SSDI was a life saver.”

• In Illinois, Social Security provided benefits to one-quarter (25.4 percent) of African American households in 2012, 167,702 households.37 • Nationwide, Social Security lifted 1,231,000 African Americans aged 65 or older out of poverty in 2012.38 Without Social Security, the poverty rate among African American seniors would have increased from 1 in 6 (18 percent) to half (51 percent).39 • Nationwide, Social Security provided nearly three-quarters (71.5 percent) of the income of African American elderly couples and unmarried individuals receiving benefits, on average, in 2012. Social Security made up 90 percent of the total income for nearly half (46.4 percent) of these African American elderly households.40

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• African Americans were 12.6 percent of the population in 2011, but represented 19 percent of disabled worker beneficiaries.41

Social Security Works for Illinois’ Latinos • In Illinois, Social Security provided benefits to 1 in 8 (13.3 percent) Latino households in 2012, 68,255 households.42 • Nationwide, Social Security lifted 999,000 Latinos aged 65 or older out of poverty in 2012.43 Without Social Security, the poverty rate among Latino seniors would have increased from 1 in 5 (21 percent) to half (52 percent).44 • Nationwide, Social Security provided three‐ quarters (74.5 percent) of the total income of Latino elderly couples and unmarried individuals receiving benefits, on average, in 2012. Social Security was 90 percent of the income for more than half (52.6 percent) of these Latino elderly households.45 • The Social Security Administration estimates that Latinos receive a higher rate of return on their Social Security contributions than the overall population—the highest of any group. That’s

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because they tend to have lower lifetime income, longer life expectancies, higher incidence of disability and larger families.46

Social Security Works for Illinois’ American Indians and Alaska Natives • In Illinois, Social Security provided benefits to 1 in 5 (19.6 percent) American Indian and Alaska Native households in 2012, 2,054 households.47 • Nationwide, Social Security provided 90 percent of the income for 1 in 8 (12 percent) elderly American Indian and Alaska Native married couples, and half (50 percent) of elderly unmarried persons in 2011.48 • Since Social Security replaces a higher percentage of income for workers with lower earnings, Social Security replaces more of American Indians’ and Alaska Natives’ pre-retirement earnings than of the overall population. The median earnings for working‐age American Indians and Alaska Natives are about $30,000, compared to $42,000 for all working-age people. Social Security provides average benefits of about $13,251 and $11,017 annually for American Indian and Alaska Native men and women aged 65 or older, respectively.49

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Social Security Works for Illinois’ Asian Americans, Hawaiian Natives and Pacific Islanders • In Illinois, Social Security provided benefits to 1 in 7 (14.5 percent) Asian American, Hawaiian Native and Pacific Islander households in 2012, 28,103 households.50 • Nationwide, Social Security provided, on average, over two‐thirds (67.7 percent) of the total income for Asian American households with beneficiaries aged 65 or older in 2012. Social Security was 90 percent of the income for over 4 in 10 (44.4 percent) Asian American elderly households.51 • Nationwide, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders receive a high rate of return from Social Security because of their long life expectancies. An Asian American or Pacific Islander man aged 65 in 2011, can expect to live until age 85, compared to age 82 for all men. An Asian American or Pacific Islander woman aged 65 can expect to live until age 88, compared to age 85 for all women.52

Social Security Works for Illinois’ Rural Communities • Social Security is more important to Illinois residents living in rural or non-metropolitan counties than to Illinois residents living in metropolitan counties. One-quarter (22.9 percent) of rural Illinois residents received Social Security in 2012, compared with 1 in 6 (15.7 percent) metropolitan Illinois residents.53 • Social Security is more important to the local economies of Illinois’ rural or non-metropolitan counties than to those of its metropolitan counties. Total personal income in Illinois’ rural counties was $55.7 billion in 2012 of which $4.7 billion, or 8.4 percent, was from Social Security. By comparison, total personal income in the state’s metropolitan counties was $534.4 billion, of which $25.5 billion, or 4.8 percent, was from Social Security.54

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Susie, North Dakota Susie worked with her husband in their family shoe store for more than 22 years. “That’s how we made our living,” she says. “We made about $100,000 a year during good years. It wasn’t all profit, we also had expenses but we got by.” And even though her husband passed away 19 years ago, she’s reminded of their sacrifices and successes when she receives her earned Social Security and Medicare. She began work as a waitress at 14 years old in tiny Reeder, North Dakota. From there she maintained a series of jobs including later on, at her own shoe store. Today, she receives about $700 a month from Social Security along with support from Medicare. Even in Dickinson, the money doesn’t go far. “I’m on both Medicare and Social Security, and together they pay less than I earned when I worked,” Susie says. At 68 years old, Susie has the benefit of hindsight when she surveys her life and the lives of other seniors. When asked how she feels about some who say seniors could afford to get by on $50 less each month if Social Security were cut to cut, she has a stark reminder for younger generations: “Yes, $50 is a big deal! That means that I will have to drastically cut my food budget. It’s already being cut as we speak. I don’t even do entertainment out of the house anymore, because I can’t afford it. My way of living has been reduced dramatically.”

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Social Security Works for Immigrants • Social Security is critical for all immigrants, of whom 7 in 10 (71.5 percent) were Latino or Asian American in 2012.55 • New immigrants tend to have lower career earnings, so Social Security is likely to be a larger source of retirement income for them. Nationwide, the median household income of foreign-born residents was $47,420 in 2012, 10.6 percent lower than the median for native-born Americans, which was $52,428.56 • Social Security is a lifeline for older workers who have serious health problems, difficult jobs or major work disabilities, among whom immigrants are disproportionately represented.57 Nearly 6 in 10 (55.7 percent) immigrant workers aged 58 or older work in physically demanding jobs or difficult conditions, compared with 4 in 10 (43.8 percent) native-born workers.58 • An analysis by the office of the Social Security Administration’s Chief Actuary shows that providing a path to citizenship for the country’s 11 million unauthorized immigrants would net Social Security $284 billion by 2024, extending Social Security’s full solvency by two years.59

Social Security’s Promise for Same-Sex Couples and Their Families As a result of the June 26, 2013 Supreme Court decision regarding the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), the federal government now recognizes the rights of legally married same-sex couples to many federal benefits, including Social Security. While the Justice Department has determined that the Social Security Administration (SSA) must follow state law in Social Security cases, SSA encourages all potentially eligible same-sex couples—whether married, in civil unions or registered domestic partnerships—to apply for benefits (such as survivors, spousal, and related family benefits). Even if they are not yet legally eligible now, they may become so in the future; applying now creates a “protective filing date” which could potentially entitle them to retroactive benefits later.60 The Social Security and Marriage Equality (SAME) Act, for example, would amend the Social Security Act to grant survivor benefits to any individual legally married anywhere in the United States, regardless of whether Social Security WorkS for ILLINOIS

Ruby, Arizona I was born when Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected into office in 1932, and three short years later he signed Social Security into law. I am retired now, so Social Security affects my life that way, but it also affected my life, and my children’s lives, through survivors’ benefits because we received benefits after their father died prematurely. It was a hunting accident. A guy across the hill from him shot, and my husband was hit, so I was left with the five kids. It was such a shock that I didn’t really know what I was going to do. It was really difficult. I got to the point where for three months, I could barely do anything and I finally had to go to the doctor. I could barely put one foot in front of me to physically walk to the doctor’s office. I don’t know what I would have done without Social Security. When I went to work, I only earned one dollar thirty cents an hour. It was tough but it was workable. Without Social Security I don’t know how it would have been.

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he or she lives in a state that recognizes same-sex marriage.61 Just as Social Security’s protections are critical for persons in traditional marriages, the availability of Social Security’s spousal and children protections are similarly crucial for: • The 50,000 same-sex couples who are married under state law,62 • The 90,000 couples in civil unions,63 • Others who are in long-term committed relationships but living in states that do not permit same-sex marriages or civil unions; and • The estimated 250,000 children being raised by same-sex couples.64 Although not all of these same-sex couples and their families have become eligible for Social Security, Social Security now works for many of our fellow

Figure 3

Economic Downturn and Legacy of Bush Policies Drive Deficits n Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan n Bush-era tax cuts n Recocvery measures n TARP, Fannie and Freddie n Economic downturn $1.5

$1.2

Deficit, in trillions

Projected DEFICIT under current policies $0.9

$0.6

$0.3

DEFICITS WITHOUT THESE FACTORS

$0 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 Source: CBPP analysis based on Congressional Budget Office February 2013 estimates. Note: All components include the associated debt-service costs.

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Americans who are part of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. As the population ages and as more states recognize the civil rights of these fellow Americans, Social Security will become ever more important to them.

Social Security Works Financially A public trust, Social Security is the nation’s most conservatively financed and carefully monitored institution. Social Security does not, and, by law, cannot add a penny to the federal deficit or debt (which is simply the accumulation of annual deficits).65 While the federal budget has run a deficit in every year but five over the last half century, Social Security is not allowed to pay benefits unless it has the funds to cover every penny of the cost; it simply does not have borrowing authority.66 This is why Social Security has nothing to do with reducing the federal budget deficit, and should not be part of any deficit reduction legislation considered by our nation’s leaders. To reduce the federal debt, Congress should be looking at its causes. It should not cut Social Security, which has not and cannot contribute a single penny to the federal budget deficit. The large run-up in federal deficits in recent years resulted primarily from huge tax cuts in 2001 and 2003; the unpaid costs of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars; the Great Recession, which dramatically reduced tax collections and increased unemployment compensation and other spending; the economic stimulus and recovery spending; and the Wall Street bank bailout [Figure 3].67 Not only is Social Security independent of the budget and self-funded; it is also among the most transparent pension programs in the world. Each year since 1941, Social Security’s Trustees issue a report about the program’s financial health. The annual Trustees Report projects income and outgo 75 years into the future— further than private pension programs and the Social Security programs of nearly every other nation. It is intended to provide Congress an extremely long lead time to make adjustments that are needed from time to time. Except for Medicare, no other federal program is subject to this type of scrutiny.

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It is only because Social Security is required to project its finances 75 years into the future that we even know about its modest long-term shortfall. This year’s report, signed by Social Security’s trustees—the secretaries of the Treasury, Health and Human Services and Labor, the Commissioner of Social Security and two Public Trustees appointed by the President—projects that Social Security can pay all benefits in full and on time for nearly two decades.68 After that, if Congress were not to act, it could still pay 77 cents on every dollar of earned benefits for the remainder of the next 75 years.69 Social Security’s projected shortfall is incredibly modest as a share of the economy. Even with the retirement of the baby boomers, Social Security’s costs are projected to go from their current level of just under 5 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to a peak of 6.2 percent in 2035, remaining just below that level thereafter.70 The cost of bringing Social Security into actuarial balance is equal to 1 percent of GDP.71 This increase in Social Security spending is smaller than the increase in spending on public education that occurred when the boomers were children.72 Our Social Security system can and should keep all its commitments without cutting benefits. For example, one approach would have everyone pay the same payroll contribution rate (6.2 percent) as about 94 percent of all American workers do.73 While the vast majority of Americans must make contributions on all of their wages, millionaires and billionaires only do so on the first $117,000 of their earnings this year.74 Asking all Americans to pay the same rate would come close to closing Social Security’s entire projected 75-year funding gap.75

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Mike, Ohio Mike was a small business owner. He had his own home construction business. While on vacation in the Bahamas, he suffered a massive stroke. He was only 60 years old. Although he did receive some initial medical attention in the Bahamas, his family, through the help of friends, was able to charter a plane to bring him back to states for treatment. His stroke left him paralyzed on his right side and with aphasia, which means he understand, but cannot speak. While most SSDI cases take usually a couple of years to get approval, Mike’s case was so compelling, he was approved immediately. In the seven years since his accident, Mike has managed to go through his IRA, which he used to pay for unexpected medical expenses. If he did not have SSDI and now his retirement benefit, his family does not know what he would have done.

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Conclusion: Maintaining a Legacy for All Generations Social Security represents the best of American values—rewarding hard work, honoring our parents, caring for our neighbors, and taking responsibility for ourselves and our families. It is based on a promise that if you pay in, then you earn the right to guaranteed benefits. Given that the administration of the Social Security program is funded from the contributions of insured workers, not general revenues, part of the promise of Social Security is excellent customer service. Indeed, SSA has long been known for this,76 all while operating extremely efficiently on an administrative budget amounting to less than one percent of revenues. In recent years, however, Congress has repeatedly severely limited SSA’s budget, restricting its use of its own dedicated surplus, which has required field office closures, staff reductions, suspension of benefit statements and other measures that have significantly compromised the agency’s service, even as the agency has coped with the enormous increase in caseloads stemming from the aging of the Baby Boom generation.77 It is critical that Congress permit SSA to spend more of its surplus so that it can re-open closed offices, open new ones, and continue to provide stellar customer service to the American people. Our Social Security system has withstood the test of time. Like our interstate highway system, however, Social Security requires periodic maintenance to remain strong. Now it is our turn to maintain and build upon that structure, as those who came before have done. It is our turn to preserve and improve these valuable systems for ourselves and for those who follow. It is our turn to build a legacy for our nation’s children and grandchildren so when they become workers, they will have the economic security that Social Security provides.

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Maintaining our Social Security system must not be reduced to a matter of simple arithmetic. Any changes we make to Social Security must help advance the program’s mission of providing economic security and dignity for America’s working families. Closing the program’s modest funding gap is a means to achieve this mission, not an end in itself. Cutting benefits now merely to avoid cutting them later would solve the arithmetic problem at the expense of Social Security’s fundamental promise. For example, basing Social Security’s cost-of-living adjustments on the stingier chained CPI (Consumer Price Index), a cut proposed by many in Washington, would undermine the adequacy of Social Security’s modest benefits. It would hit long-time beneficiaries, such as people with disabilities and the oldest old, the hardest, at a time in their lives when most have little else on which to live. Under the chained CPI, the average earner retiring at age 65 would see a cumulative benefit cut of $4,642 at age 75, $13,921 at age 85, and $28,015 at age 95.78 As important as Social Security is today, the need for it will only increase in coming years. Our nation faces an impending retirement income crisis. More than half (53 percent) of today’s working Americans are not expected to have sufficient resources to maintain their standard of living in old age.79 The outlook is even more dismal when anticipated health and long-term care expenditures are counted; then, roughly twothirds of working-age households are not expected to be able to maintain their living standard in retirement.80 The retirement income crisis is the result of changes in the economy that have diminished private sources of retirement income. Employers have been increasingly terminating traditional pension plans and either not replacing them, or replacing them with far more risky and inadequate 401(k) accounts. Just over half (52.5 percent) of all working heads of household are eligible

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for an employer-sponsored retirement plan; less than half (44.6 percent) actually participate.81 Among those households nearing retirement (aged 55-64) with a 401(k) plan, IRA, or both, the median balance was $100,000.82 But 45 percent of households do not even own a retirement account, and 6 in 10 households nearing retirement have less than a year’s salary worth of retirement savings. Hence the median retirement account balance for all U.S. households aged 55-64 is only $12,000.83 Were it not for Social Security, the retirement income crisis would inevitably be much worse. Social Security continues to prove steady, stable, and reliable. In a world of stagnant wages and risky or inadequate 401(k) plans, Social Security is a fortress of security and reliability. In this uncertain world, where no one is invulnerable to the tragedy of premature death or serious and permanent disability, Social Security is there to cushion the economic blow of such tragedies. Further, Social Security benefits, while growing in importance, are already modest and declining. For a lifetime average earner retiring at age 65 in

2013, Social Security benefits replace 41 percent of pre-retirement earnings.84 That replacement rate alone ranks 30th out of 34 among countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.85 Social Security’s replacement rate will drop to 36 percent of pre-retirement earnings by 2025, mostly due to the ongoing increase in the full retirement age to 67.86 If health care costs continue to rise faster than inflation, Medicare Part B and Part D premiums will further reduce Social Security benefits’ value.87 The solution is clear. It is time to double down on what works. It is time to expand Social Security, not cut it. Social Security Works and the Strengthen Social Security Coalition, which includes over 300 national and state groups representing over 50 million Americans, support legislation in Congress that would do just that. Expanding Social Security is not only affordable; it is a wise public investment. With 64.6 percent of total income growth over the past thirty years going to the top one percent, while the aggregate income of the bottom 90 percent actually declined,88 and other sources of retirement security dwindling or unreliable, this is not the time to accept further cuts to Social Security as a “reasonable compromise,” as little “tweaks” that will do no lasting harm. Rather, this is the time for reasonable people to talk about expanding Social Security, just as the majority of Americans want. At base, this is about what kind of nation we want to live in and leave for those who follow. We are the wealthiest nation in the world. Our nation is much wealthier than it was in 1935, 1939, 1956, 1965, or 1972, when Social Security’s key structures were built and improved. The consequences of not expanding Social Security are far worse—a deeper retirement income crisis; greater income inequality; a more sluggish consumer economy—than the cost of doing what is right.

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291,729

164,656

86,047

157,893

Disabled workers

Widow(er)s

Spouses

Children

11,227

3,645

10,062

19,313

79,847

N/A

17.3%

124,094

718,265

$1,747M

1

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

14,343

4,222

10,723

22,892

80,194

N/A

18.6%

132,374

712,966

7,785

5,067

9,456

14,364

78,151

N/A

16.2%

114,823

707,476

7,972

4,481

6,158

15,048

49,174

N/A

11.6%

82,833

711,230

5,873

4,365

7,361

12,287

74,314

N/A

14.5%

104,200

718,501

5,687

4,559

7,005

9,340

76,188

N/A

14.3%

102,779

8,861

2,699

6,619

16,481

55,146

N/A

12.5%

89,806

719,794 716,884

5,895

3,871

6,473

11,443

67,397

N/A

13.3%

95,079

715,533

6,067

5,390

8,311

12,553

87,897

N/A

16.7%

120,218

720,781

6,196

4,911

6,974

10,510

70,497

N/A

13.9%

99,088

7,055

3,400

6,080

11,419

57,035

N/A

11.9%

84,989

10,651

5,094

10,585

20,224

82,878

N/A

18.1%

129,432

714,939

7,333

4,106

7,460

12,121

83,633

N/A

15.9%

114,653

722,048

11,756

6,973

14,501

23,429

104,808

N/A

22.8%

161,467

709,304

10,783

5,610

11,371

20,763

100,840

N/A

21.0%

149,367

711,132

9,298

5,772

11,489

19,257

95,801

N/A

20.0%

141,617

709,394

*The annual benefits for the Congressional districts were calculated by taking the monthly benefits and multiplying by 12. The state annual benefits number is the sum of the congressional district numbers.

11,804

5,587

12,079

23,555

84,022

N/A

19.3%

137,047

710,409 714,699 711,907

9,307

6,295

11,949

16,730

105,682

N/A

21.0%

149,963

713,228

$1,850M $1,700M $1,043M $1,539M $1,732M $1,243M $1,495M $1,908M $1,601M $1,311M $1,868M $1,809M $1,858M $2,200M $2,222M $2,001M $2,201M

2

Congressional Districts

Appendix 1: Social Security Works for Illinois’ Congressional Districts

Sources: “U.S. Census Bureau, ACS Demographic and Housing Estimates, “2010-2012 American Community Survey 3-Year Estimates,” 2013. SSA, “Illinois,” Congressional Statistics, December 2013, 2014. SSA, Annual Statistical Supplement, 2014, “Table 5.J5.1: Number by state or other area and sex, December 2013,” July 2014.

1,433,504

16.6%

Percent of residents receiving Social Security benefits

Retired workers

2,133,829

Number of residents receiving Social Security benefits

1,104,457

12,858,490

Number of residents in state/ congressional district

Women

$31,330M

State Total

Total annual benefits ($ in millions)*

Social Security Beneficiaries by category

Social Security WorkS for ILLINOIS

12

Social Security WorkS for ILLINOIS

13

Illinois Total (102 Counties) Adams Alexander Bond Boone Brown Bureau Calhoun Carroll Cass Champaign Christian Clark Clay Clinton Coles Cook Crawford Cumberland DeKalb De Witt Douglas DuPage Edgar Edwards Effingham Fayette Ford Franklin

County

Social Security Benefits, 2012-2013

$55,126 $46,038 $28,933 $46,639 $60,433 $46,481 $48,005 $47,131 $47,376 $44,651 $46,708 $43,393 $47,404 $40,573 $60,498 $36,093 $52,160 $44,363 $44,384 $50,502 $51,794 $52,758 $78,131 $42,645 $43,124 $51,319 $41,997 $48,652 $38,992

12,875,255

Non-Metropolitan 67,197 Metropolitan 7,748 Metropolitan 17,644 Metropolitan 53,940 Non-Metropolitan 6,914 Non-Metropolitan 34,323 Metropolitan 5,014 Non-Metropolitan 15,011 Non-Metropolitan 13,338 Metropolitan 203,276 Non-Metropolitan 34,638 Non-Metropolitan 16,209 Non-Metropolitan 13,766 Metropolitan 38,061 Non-Metropolitan 53,655 Metropolitan 5,231,351 Non-Metropolitan 19,600 Non-Metropolitan 10,968 Metropolitan 104,704 Metropolitan 16,434 Non-Metropolitan 19,853 Metropolitan 927,987 Non-Metropolitan 18,191 Non-Metropolitan 6,684 Non-Metropolitan 34,353 Non-Metropolitan 22,014 Metropolitan 14,008 Non-Metropolitan 39,407

N/A 12.4% 32.9% 15.5% 10.2% 16.3% 12.0% 12.1% 12.6% 13.6% 20.5% 15.4% 13.1% 14.3% 9.9% 22.9% 18.0% 14.4% 12.4% 17.0% 11.2% 10.1% 7.3% 17.0% 11.1% 9.7% 17.6% 11.7% 17.1%

14.7% 12,042 1,381 2,754 6,995 878 6,575 1,093 3,371 2,101 21,479 6,197 2,958 2,530 5,844 7,725 647,681 3,437 1,888 10,896 2,851 3,196 115,884 3,546 1,254 5,426 3,634 2,687 7,362

1,694,437 17.9% 17.8% 15.6% 13.0% 12.7% 19.2% 21.8% 22.5% 15.8% 10.6% 17.9% 18.2% 18.4% 15.4% 14.4% 12.4% 17.5% 17.2% 10.4% 17.3% 16.1% 12.5% 19.5% 18.8% 15.8% 16.5% 19.2% 18.7%

13.2%

5.1%

$210,360,000 7.5% $23,100,000 10.1% $49,188,000 7.4% $146,928,000 7.3% $14,700,000 6.7% $114,060,000 8.4% $18,348,000 10.2% $57,444,000 9.9% $35,952,000 7.6% $342,324,000 4.3% $116,088,000 8.7% $52,404,000 8.3% $42,636,000 8.4% $97,692,000 6.0% $128,604,000 6.7% $11,269,200,000 4.3% $63,384,000 7.9% $32,640,000 7.7% $212,892,000 5.7% $51,336,000 7.6% $55,932,000 6.9% $2,273,856,000 4.1% $60,960,000 8.7% $21,804,000 9.1% $99,732,000 6.7% $61,620,000 9.2% $42,768,000 6.2% $140,988,000 10.9%

$31,330,308,000 22.7% 24.7% 20.5% 17.8% 15.8% 22.9% 26.0% 27.8% 19.8% 12.8% 23.8% 23.9% 23.9% 18.6% 18.0% 14.9% 22.9% 22.5% 13.8% 21.6% 19.9% 14.8% 24.7% 24.0% 21.0% 21.6% 22.0% 26.6%

16.6% 15,245 1,910 3,620 9,595 1,095 7,850 1,305 4,180 2,640 26,015 8,235 3,875 3,295 7,075 9,675 779,575 4,490 2,465 14,400 3,545 3,960 137,770 4,495 1,605 7,205 4,750 3,075 10,495

2,133,835 10,490 1,070 2,320 6,610 700 5,600 865 2,920 1,705 17,285 5,300 2,530 2,090 4,750 6,445 517,290 3,040 1,615 9,955 2,400 2,710 101,535 2,865 1,080 4,790 3,000 2,095 6,190

1,433,505 2,015 425 580 1,260 170 875 170 530 345 3,645 1,155 530 545 815 1,455 111,865 585 350 1,810 515 470 13,230 690 205 955 740 360 1,860

291,730

1,145 175 340 645 110 630 125 335 270 2,005 820 390 310 625 795 58,850 390 210 1,065 280 390 9,615 420 160 655 410 300 1,015

164,655

595 65 155 385 50 295 85 155 110 975 390 175 145 250 325 30,880 210 125 455 140 180 5,935 190 80 335 225 115 585

86,045

1,000 175 225 695 65 450 60 240 210 2,105 570 250 205 635 655 60,690 265 165 1,115 210 210 7,455 330 80 470 375 205 845

157,895

Disabled Widow(er)s Spouses Children Workers

Social Security Beneficiaries by Characteristic, 2013*

% of Median % of % of Total Population % in Population Annual Total Retired Metropolitan/ 2012 Household Population Personal Poverty, Over Age Total Benefits, Receiving Non-Metropolitan Population Income, Over Age Income, Beneficiaries Workers 2012 65, 2012 2013 Benefits, 2012 65, 2012 2012 2013

Illinois County Demographics, 2012

Appendix 2: Social Security Works for Illinois’ Counties (Page 1/4)

Social Security WorkS for ILLINOIS

14

Fulton Gallatin Greene Grundy Hamilton Hancock Hardin Henderson Henry Iroquois Jackson Jasper Jefferson Jersey Jo Daviess Johnson Kane Kankakee Kendall Knox Lake LaSalle Lawrence Lee Livingston Logan McDonough McHenry McLean Macon

County

Social Security Benefits, 2012-2013

960 225 560 1,205 300 565 260 205 1,085 970 1,520 280 1,320 850 510 440 8,290 3,610 1,650 1,555 10,990 3,325 535 1,150 1,035 805 695 5,655 3,210 3,840

855 170 300 725 200 420 130 160 1,025 640 755 225 760 500 410 240 4,415 1,720 965 935 6,805 2,075 390 600 680 515 495 3,000 1,740 1,945

495 100 175 375 115 230 65 65 540 290 335 125 360 250 235 155 2,635 765 470 425 4,650 925 140 290 325 210 235 1,640 865 990

500 95 245 630 155 285 125 85 500 525 820 110 630 335 210 225 4,535 2,335 1,140 915 6,705 1,695 240 695 660 365 370 3,100 1,640 1,790

Disabled Widow(er)s Spouses Children Workers

Social Security Beneficiaries by Characteristic, 2013*

% of Median % of % of Total Population % in Population Annual Total Retired Metropolitan/ 2012 Household Population Personal Poverty, Over Age Total Benefits, Receiving Non-Metropolitan Population Income, Over Age Income, Beneficiaries Workers 2012 65, 2012 2013 Benefits, 2012 65, 2012 2012 2013 Non-Metropolitan 36,651 $41,899 15.4% 6,787 18.5% $118,116,000 9.2% 23.1% 8,460 5,650 Non-Metropolitan 5,430 $38,126 17.8% 1,173 21.6% $20,940,000 9.9% 28.5% 1,550 960 Non-Metropolitan 13,576 $41,576 14.1% 2,394 17.6% $42,984,000 9.3% 23.9% 3,245 1,965 Metropolitan 50,281 $63,167 8.3% 5,973 11.9% $132,132,000 6.7% 17.0% 8,565 5,630 Non-Metropolitan 8,370 $42,673 14.7% 1,675 20.0% $26,976,000 8.1% 24.7% 2,070 1,300 Non-Metropolitan 18,891 $45,183 13.1% 3,934 20.8% $66,540,000 9.4% 25.5% 4,820 3,320 Non-Metropolitan 4,258 $36,576 20.7% 924 21.7% $17,652,000 12.5% 31.6% 1,345 765 Non-Metropolitan 7,043 $47,047 11.9% 1,565 22.2% $25,332,000 9.8% 25.6% 1,805 1,290 Metropolitan 50,155 $53,998 10.8% 8,845 17.6% $159,528,000 8.2% 22.2% 11,110 7,960 Non-Metropolitan 29,240 $47,201 14.1% 5,759 19.7% $101,052,000 8.6% 24.5% 7,150 4,725 Metropolitan 60,071 $31,900 29.4% 7,272 12.1% $114,864,000 5.2% 15.3% 9,195 5,765 Non-Metropolitan 9,614 $48,726 10.8% 1,710 17.8% $29,976,000 7.4% 23.4% 2,245 1,505 Non-Metropolitan 38,720 $40,596 15.9% 6,552 16.9% $116,388,000 8.0% 22.1% 8,565 5,495 Metropolitan 22,742 $52,049 10.0% 3,774 16.6% $75,408,000 7.9% 23.0% 5,240 3,305 Non-Metropolitan 22,549 $49,671 12.1% 5,111 22.7% $88,644,000 8.4% 27.1% 6,110 4,745 Non-Metropolitan 12,760 $43,237 13.8% 2,354 18.4% $40,848,000 11.2% 24.3% 3,105 2,045 Metropolitan 522,487 $64,870 11.9% 55,995 10.7% $1,083,756,000 4.9% 13.2% 68,760 48,885 Metropolitan 113,040 $50,985 17.1% 15,916 14.1% $314,892,000 7.7% 19.4% 21,910 13,480 Metropolitan 118,105 $84,816 5.1% 9,687 8.2% $222,156,000 4.3% 11.9% 14,060 9,835 Non-Metropolitan 52,247 $40,973 14.9% 9,953 19.0% $168,384,000 8.7% 23.1% 12,075 8,245 Metropolitan 702,120 $74,459 9.4% 79,222 11.3% $1,603,692,000 3.7% 14.1% 98,945 69,795 Non-Metropolitan 112,973 $49,431 14.4% 19,037 16.9% $364,836,000 8.2% 21.9% 24,780 16,760 Non-Metropolitan 16,604 $39,474 16.8% 2,627 15.8% $48,192,000 8.8% 21.4% 3,545 2,240 Non-Metropolitan 35,037 $50,304 12.5% 5,862 16.7% $113,856,000 8.8% 22.6% 7,925 5,190 Non-Metropolitan 38,647 $55,150 12.5% 6,253 16.2% $116,100,000 6.6% 20.5% 7,915 5,215 Non-Metropolitan 30,013 $47,111 14.6% 4,937 16.4% $88,752,000 8.3% 20.5% 6,145 4,250 Non-Metropolitan 32,537 $40,487 22.3% 4,750 14.6% $73,368,000 6.7% 17.6% 5,720 3,925 Metropolitan 308,145 $76,417 7.6% 33,897 11.0% $756,672,000 5.3% 15.2% 46,845 33,450 Metropolitan 172,281 $62,129 14.8% 18,449 10.7% $361,332,000 4.6% 14.2% 24,400 16,945 Metropolitan 110,122 $44,889 21.8% 18,692 17.0% $359,040,000 7.4% 22.4% 24,670 16,105

Illinois County Demographics, 2012

Appendix 2: Social Security Works for Illinois’ Counties (Page 2/4)

Social Security WorkS for ILLINOIS

15

Macoupin Madison Marion Marshall Mason Massac Menard Mercer Monroe Montgomery Morgan Moultrie Ogle Peoria Perry Piatt Pike Pope Pulaski Putnam Randolph Richland Rock Island St. Clair Saline Sangamon Schuyler Scott Shelby Stark

County

Social Security Benefits, 2012-2013

1,735 8,940 1,585 335 445 750 320 370 670 1,010 1,165 375 1,395 4,810 725 340 495 160 300 140 990 565 3,665 8,450 1,040 5,740 210 115 685 135

1,005 4,775 745 300 365 370 210 380 480 690 630 235 840 2,850 465 300 340 75 155 120 645 370 2,505 4,025 740 2,750 145 105 490 125

540 2,325 340 145 215 175 90 205 260 305 305 130 375 1,515 285 155 175 50 55 50 310 160 1,230 1,675 345 1,010 75 50 280 105

790 4,335 845 160 260 295 210 190 365 470 690 210 705 2,525 335 180 250 90 140 75 490 245 1,670 4,670 520 3,965 95 70 350 75

Disabled Widow(er)s Spouses Children Workers

Social Security Beneficiaries by Characteristic, 2013*

% of Median % of % of Total Population % in Population Annual Total Retired Metropolitan/ 2012 Household Population Personal Poverty, Over Age Total Benefits, Receiving Non-Metropolitan Population Income, Over Age Income, Beneficiaries Workers 2012 65, 2012 2013 Benefits, 2012 65, 2012 2012 2013 Metropolitan 47,231 $48,349 13.7% 8,436 17.9% $156,612,000 8.3% 23.6% 11,150 7,080 Metropolitan 267,883 $51,736 13.0% 40,134 15.0% $787,908,000 7.0% 20.4% 54,525 34,150 Non-Metropolitan 38,894 $40,890 18.0% 6,888 17.7% $123,384,000 8.5% 24.0% 9,320 5,805 Metropolitan 12,327 $53,100 9.9% 2,512 20.4% $46,752,000 8.4% 25.4% 3,135 2,195 Non-Metropolitan 14,327 $45,314 15.3% 2,892 20.2% $52,584,000 10.3% 26.0% 3,720 2,435 Non-Metropolitan 15,234 $40,837 17.4% 2,928 19.2% $54,252,000 10.5% 26.4% 4,025 2,435 Metropolitan 12,722 $62,001 10.1% 2,129 16.7% $39,780,000 7.6% 21.7% 2,765 1,935 Metropolitan 16,219 $52,503 8.4% 3,147 19.4% $57,432,000 8.4% 24.9% 4,040 2,895 Metropolitan 33,357 $72,265 4.5% 4,945 14.8% $93,468,000 5.7% 18.4% 6,150 4,375 Non-Metropolitan 29,620 $45,365 13.5% 5,248 17.7% $96,108,000 9.4% 23.6% 6,990 4,515 Non-Metropolitan 35,272 $47,514 13.5% 6,131 17.4% $111,660,000 8.7% 22.8% 8,040 5,250 Non-Metropolitan 14,933 $50,859 10.3% 2,706 18.1% $45,840,000 7.8% 21.0% 3,140 2,190 Non-Metropolitan 52,848 $52,976 10.4% 8,590 16.3% $161,220,000 7.8% 20.7% 10,920 7,605 Metropolitan 187,254 $47,310 19.4% 27,017 14.4% $532,908,000 5.7% 19.3% 36,150 24,445 Non-Metropolitan 22,058 $40,877 17.4% 3,604 16.3% $67,092,000 10.1% 21.8% 4,805 2,995 Metropolitan 16,504 $63,656 7.2% 2,868 17.4% $49,512,000 5.8% 20.8% 3,425 2,450 Non-Metropolitan 16,308 $40,087 16.1% 3,154 19.3% $48,840,000 8.8% 23.2% 3,790 2,530 Non-Metropolitan 4,272 $38,588 21.7% 885 20.7% $14,040,000 9.7% 24.8% 1,060 685 Non-Metropolitan 5,998 $32,510 24.4% 1,134 18.9% $19,524,000 8.9% 26.3% 1,575 925 Non-Metropolitan 5,886 $58,776 8.7% 1,101 18.7% $22,284,000 8.6% 25.0% 1,470 1,085 Non-Metropolitan 32,956 $46,817 14.4% 5,468 16.6% $100,488,000 9.5% 21.3% 7,005 4,570 Non-Metropolitan 16,176 $41,667 14.4% 3,151 19.5% $52,008,000 8.9% 24.7% 4,000 2,660 Metropolitan 147,457 $49,875 14.0% 24,812 16.8% $444,528,000 7.1% 20.9% 30,825 21,755 Metropolitan 268,858 $46,921 19.3% 35,226 13.1% $655,008,000 6.1% 17.8% 47,740 28,920 Non-Metropolitan 24,946 $38,056 21.0% 4,696 18.8% $85,644,000 9.2% 25.9% 6,470 3,825 Metropolitan 199,271 $55,386 14.0% 28,887 14.5% $566,268,000 6.5% 20.2% 40,210 26,745 Non-Metropolitan 7,457 $47,766 12.3% 1,381 18.5% $22,704,000 7.7% 22.5% 1,675 1,150 Non-Metropolitan 5,290 $47,541 11.8% 966 18.3% $14,436,000 7.6% 19.7% 1,040 700 Non-Metropolitan 22,196 $47,428 11.8% 4,404 19.8% $74,964,000 8.9% 24.3% 5,395 3,590 Metropolitan 5,946 $48,225 10.6% 1,407 23.7% $20,424,000 8.2% 23.6% 1,405 965

Illinois County Demographics, 2012

Appendix 2: Social Security Works for Illinois’ Counties (Page 3/4)

Social Security WorkS for ILLINOIS

16

1,505 3,140 720 3,310 400 435 390 505 555 2,035 12,335 2,275 10,040 675

745 2,490 355 1,565 240 320 310 390 435 1,105 7,125 1,385 4,045 640

380 1,440 170 690 140 165 155 210 185 685 3,775 655 2,020 355

750 1,700 485 1,640 175 215 190 250 225 1,040 8,165 1,040 4,720 415

Disabled Widow(er)s Spouses Children Workers

Social Security Beneficiaries by Characteristic, 2013*

*State totals in this appendix may not equal state figures cited elsewhere in the report, because individual county figures provided by SSA are rounded. 2012 Population: US Census Bureau, 2012 Population Estimates, “Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Selected Age Groups by Sex for the United States, States, Counties and Puerto Rico Commonwealth and Municipios: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2012,” 2013. http://factfinder2.census.gov/. The total state population given in Appendix 2 may not match the state population in Appendix 1 because it is the sum of the individual county population estimates, which have a higher margin of error than congressional district population estimates. Metropolitan/Non-Metropolitan: Unpublished calculations of US Census data performed by Dr. Roberto Gallardo, Mississippi State University Extension Service, on behalf of the Center for Rural Strategies, and shared with Social Security Works. For the purposes of this analysis, “metropolitan” refers to counties with at least one urbanized area of 50,000 people or more, and adjacent counties in which 25 percent of the workforce or more commutes to county with 50,000 people or more. “Non-metropolitan” refers to counties designated by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) as non-metropolitan, including micropolitan areas, or “small cities,” with urban clusters of 10,000-49,999 people, and non-core areas lacking a centralized population of any kind. Dr. Gallardo’s initial calculations distinguished between “small cities” and “rural” counties. For Social Security Works, he created a weighted average of “small cities” and “rural” counties that allowed us to classify both as “non-metropolitan” figures. US Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service (ERS), What is Rural?, May 10, 2013. http://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/rural-economy-population/rural-classifications/what-is-rural.aspx#.UeSGcGTTWGN Total Personal Income, 2012: Unpublished calculations of US Census data performed by Dr. Roberto Gallardo, Mississippi State University Extension Service, on behalf of the Center for Rural Strategies, and shared with Social Security Works, ibid. Median Househould Income, 2012: US Census Bureau, Small Area Estimates Branch, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, 2012, “Table 1: 2012 Poverty and Median Income Estimates - Counties,” 2013. http://www.census.gov/did/www/saipe/data/statecounty/data/2011.html Percentage in Poverty, 2012: US Census Bureau, Small Area Estimates Branch, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, 2012, “Table 1: 2012 Poverty and Median Income Estimates - Counties,” 2013. http://www.census.gov/did/www/saipe/data/statecounty/data/2011.html Population over 65, 2012: US Census Bureau, 2012 Population Estimates, “Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Selected Age Groups by Sex for the United States, States, Counties and Puerto Rico Commonwealth and Municipios: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2012,” 2013. http://factfinder2.census.gov/ http://factfinder2.census.gov/ Percent of Population Receiving Benefits, 2013: SSA, OASDI Benefits by State and County, 2013, “Table 4. Number of beneficiaries in current-payment status, by county, type of benefit, and sex of beneficiaries aged 65 or older, December 2013,” July 2014. http://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/statcomps/oasdi_sc/ Annual Total Benefits, 2013: SSA, OASDI Benefits by State and County, 2013, “Table 5. Amount of benefits in current-payment status, by county, type of benefit, and sex of beneficiaries aged 65 or older, December 2013,” July 2014. http://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/statcomps/oasdi_sc/ Social Security Beneficiaries by Characteristic, 2013: SSA, Ibid, Table 4.

Stephenson Tazewell Union Vermilion Wabash Warren Washington Wayne White Whiteside Will Williamson Winnebago Woodford

County

Social Security Benefits, 2012-2013

% of Median % of % of Total Population % in Population Annual Total Retired Metropolitan/ 2012 Household Population Personal Poverty, Over Age Total Benefits, Receiving Non-Metropolitan Population Income, Over Age Income, Beneficiaries Workers 2012 65, 2012 2013 Benefits, 2012 65, 2012 2012 2013 Non-Metropolitan 46,959 $45,907 15.0% 9,227 19.6% $166,428,000 8.8% 24.9% 11,685 8,305 Metropolitan 135,949 $60,403 8.6% 21,952 16.1% $430,644,000 6.7% 21.0% 28,565 19,795 Non-Metropolitan 17,647 $41,054 16.6% 3,349 19.0% $57,792,000 9.6% 26.2% 4,620 2,890 Metropolitan 80,727 $40,709 18.9% 13,472 16.7% $255,612,000 9.0% 23.3% 18,815 11,610 Non-Metropolitan 11,727 $46,323 13.4% 2,199 18.8% $38,196,000 8.3% 23.3% 2,735 1,780 Non-Metropolitan 17,731 $43,045 14.6% 3,075 17.3% $49,104,000 7.4% 20.0% 3,555 2,420 Non-Metropolitan 14,598 $54,564 9.8% 2,608 17.9% $43,584,000 6.1% 21.1% 3,085 2,040 Non-Metropolitan 16,574 $43,662 14.2% 3,260 19.7% $54,072,000 8.2% 24.7% 4,095 2,740 Non-Metropolitan 14,568 $42,911 14.4% 3,099 21.3% $53,532,000 8.5% 26.9% 3,925 2,525 Non-Metropolitan 57,846 $45,818 11.9% 10,455 18.1% $201,384,000 8.5% 24.5% 14,185 9,320 Metropolitan 682,518 $72,395 8.4% 69,730 10.2% $1,472,304,000 4.5% 13.9% 94,860 63,460 Metropolitan 66,674 $41,033 15.2% 11,385 17.1% $202,380,000 8.1% 22.4% 14,935 9,580 Metropolitan 292,069 $49,060 16.1% 42,977 14.7% $884,616,000 8.0% 20.4% 59,680 38,855 Metropolitan 38,971 $69,806 6.4% 6,058 15.5% $113,640,000 6.1% 19.0% 7,420 5,335

Illinois County Demographics, 2012

Appendix 2: Social Security Works for Illinois’ Counties (Page 4/4)

Endnotes 1 Total annual benefits in 2013: $812,045,000. Social Security Administration (SSA), Annual Statistical Supplement, 2014, “Table 5.J1—Estimated total annual benefits paid, by state or other area and program, 2013,” July 2014. http://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/statcomps/supplement/2014/5j.html. Total beneficiaries as of December 2013: 57,978,610. SSA, ibid., “Table 5.J2—Number, by state or other area, program, and type of benefit, December 2013.” Total U.S. population 2013: 316,128,839. U.S. Census Bureau, “Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Selected Age Groups by Sex for the United States, States, Counties and Puerto Rico Commonwealth and Municipios: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2013,” 2013 Population Estimates, 2014. http:// factfinder2.census.gov/ 2 Calculated by subtracting number of beneficiaries 65 and older (40,865,508) from total beneficiaries (57,978,610). SSA, ibid., “Table 5.J3—Number and total monthly benefits for beneficiaries aged 65 or older, by state or other area and sex, December 2013.” 3 There are an estimated 9,189,620 children receiving benefits, including 4,412,620 children receiving benefits directly and an estimated 4,777,000 children under age 18 supported by a parent, guardian, or other relative receiving benefits. The number of children supported by a parent, guardian, or other relative receiving benefits dates from 2010, so it likely understates the total for 2013. Unless otherwise specified as children under 18, the term “children” used in this section is consistent with the Social Security Administration’s use of the term to include three groups: “children under age 18,” receiving benefits through a parent receiving retirement or disability benefits, or a deceased parent; “students aged 18-19,” which refers to children receiving benefits at ages 18 and 19 who are matriculated in an institution of secondary education; and “disabled adult children,” which refers to those adults with a severe disability that began before age 22, at a time when a parent was receiving retirement or disability benefits or was deceased. Children receiving benefits directly: SSA, Annual Statistical Supplement, 2014, “Table 5.J10—Number of children, by state or other area and type of benefit, December 2013,” July 2014. http://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/statcomps/supplement/2014/5j.html#table5.j10. Definition and eligibility of disabled adult children: SSA, Benefits for Children with Disabilities, 2013, 2014, p. 11. http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10026.pdf. Children dependent on a parent, guardian, or relative receiving benefits: Congressional Research Service (CRS), Thomas Gabe, Social Security’s Effect on Child Poverty, December 22, 2011, Figure 1, pp. 3-4. http:// socialsecurity-works.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/CRS_Children-Social-Security_2011.pdf 4 Of the 4,412,620 children who received benefits directly in 2013, 3,236,746 were under age 18; 145,708 were students aged 18-19; and 1,030,166 were disabled adult children. SSA, Annual Statistical Supplement, 2014, “Table 5.J10—Number of children, by state or other area and type of benefit, December 2013,” July 2014. http://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/statcomps/supplement/2014/5j.html#table5.j10 5 The estimated 4,777,000 children not receiving benefits directly, but living in households that do, include 1.816 million children under age 18 with a parent or guardian receiving benefits, and 2.961 million children under age 18 in families where a relative other than a parent is receiving benefits. These data are from December 2010, the most recent year available, so it likely understates the total for 2012. Congressional Research Service (CRS), Thomas Gabe, Social Security’s Effect on Child Poverty, December 22, 2011, Figure 1, pp. 3-4. http://socialsecurity-works.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/CRS_ Children-Social-Security_2011.pdf 6 Average benefit found by dividing total spending by total beneficiaries. Total annual benefits from SSA, Annual Statistical Supplement, 2014, “Table 5. J1—Estimated total annual benefits paid, by state or other area and program, 2013 (in millions of dollars),” July 2014. http://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/ statcomps/supplement/2014/5j.html. Total beneficiaries from SSA, ibid., “Table 5.J2—Number, by state or other area, program, and type of benefit, December 2013.” Average retired worker benefit found by multiplying average monthly retired worker benefit by 12. SSA, ibid., “Table 5.J6—Percentage distribution of monthly benefit for retired workers, by state or other area and monthly benefit, December 2013.” 7 SSA, Income of the Population 55 or Older, 2012, Table 9.A1, April 2014. http://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/statcomps/income_pop55/2012/sect09.html 8 Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), Social Security Keeps 22 Million Americans Out of Poverty: A State-by-State Analysis, October 25, 2013. http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=4037. 9 Michelle Stegman Bailey and Jeffrey Hemmeter, “Characteristics of Noninstitutionalized DI and SSI Program Participants, 2010 Update,” Research and Statistics Note Nr. 2014-02, February 2014, Table 2. http://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/rsnotes/rsn2014-02.html 10 Stegman and Hemmeter, ibid., Table 5. 11 $583,000 value of disability benefits includes $405,000 of Disability Insurance benefits, and $178,000 of Old-Age and Survivors Insurance benefits once the disabled worker reaches the full retirement age. Estimates of illustrative worker’s career earnings and corresponding value of disability and life insurance benefits understate current amounts, since they are in wage-indexed 2011 dollars for a worker beginning to receive benefits in 2012, the most recent year for which data was available. SSA, The Insurance Value of Potential Survivor and Disability Benefits for an Illustrative Worker, Unpublished Memorandum from Michael Clingman, Kyle Burkhalter, and Chris Chaplain, Actuaries, to Alice H. Wade, Deputy Chief Actuary, September 27, 2012. 12 SSA, “Estimated Number of Fully Insured Workers, by Age Group and Sex, on December 31, 1970-2013.” http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/STATS/ table4c2FI.html (accessed July 11, 2014). 13 SSA, “Fact Sheet,” April 2, 2014. http://www.ssa.gov/pressoffice/factsheets/basicfact-alt.pdf 14 SSA, ”Fact Sheet,” ibid. 15 Robert Baldwin and Sharon Chu, “A Death and Disability Life Table for Insured Workers Born in 1985,” Actuarial Note 2005.6, SSA Office of the Chief Actuary, February 2006. http://www.ssa.gov/oact/NOTES/ran6/an2005-6.pdf 16 Total beneficiaries from SSA, Annual Statistical Supplement, 2014, “Table 5.J2—Number, by state or other area, program, and type of benefit, December 2013,” July 2014. http://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/statcomps/supplement/2014/5j.html#table5.j2. State population data from U.S. Census Bureau, “Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Selected Age Groups by Sex for the United States, States, Counties and Puerto Rico Commonwealth and Municipios: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2013,” 2013 Population Estimates, 2014. http://factfinder2.census.gov/ 17 Total annual benefits from SSA, Annual Statistical Supplement, 2014, “Table 5.J1—Estimated total annual benefits paid, by state or other area and program, 2013 (in millions of dollars),” July 2014. http://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/statcomps/supplement/2014/5j.html#table5.j1. Benefits’ equivalent percentage of total personal income calculated using state figures from Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts, “SA1-3 Personal Income Summary (thousands of dollars),” May 30, 2014. http://www.bea.gov/regional/index.htm 18 Average benefit found by dividing total spending by total beneficiaries. Total annual benefits from Social Security Administration (SSA), Annual Statistical Supplement, 2014, “Table 5.J1—Estimated total annual benefits paid, by state or other area and program, 2013 (in millions of dollars),” July 2014. http:// www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/statcomps/supplement/2014/5j.html#table5.j1. Total beneficiaries from SSA, Annual Statistical Supplement, 2014, “Table 5.J2— Number, by state or other area, program, and type of benefit, December 2013,” July 2014. http://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/statcomps/supplement/2014/5j. html#table5.j2 19 Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), Social Security Keeps 22 Million Americans Out of Poverty: A State-by-State Analysis, October 25, 2013. http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=4037. State estimates are based on a three-year average (for 2010-2012) to improve their reliability; the national data are for 2012. 20 For the purposes of this report, “seniors” describes individuals aged 65 or older. Social Security WorkS for ILLINOIS

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21 SSA, Annual Statistical Supplement, 2014, “Table 5.J2—Number, by state or other area, program, and type of benefit, December 2013,” July 2014. 22 For the purposes of this analysis, “typical” is used to describe the “median” benefit. Herein, all references to “typical” will reflect this description. Monthly median benefit multiplied by 12 to calculate annual figure. SSA, Annual Statistical Supplement, 2014, “Table 5.J6—Percentage distribution of monthly benefit for retired workers, by state or other area and monthly benefit, December 2013,” July 2014. http://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/statcomps/ supplement/2014/5j.html#table5.j6 23 CBPP, ibid. 24 CBPP, ibid. 25 SSA, Annual Statistical Supplement, 2014, “Table 5.J5.1—Number, by state or other area, and sex, December 2013,” July 2014. http://www.ssa.gov/ policy/docs/statcomps/supplement/2014/5j.html#table5.j1. Percentage of women receiving benefits calculated using total female population from U.S. Census Bureau, “Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Selected Age Groups by Sex for the United States, States, Counties and Puerto Rico Commonwealth and Municipios: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2013,” 2013 Population Estimates, 2014. http://factfinder2.census.gov/ 26 Total spouses receiving benefits calculated by adding number of spouses of retired workers to number of spouses of disabled workers. SSA, Annual Statistical Supplement, 2014, “Table 5.J2—Number, by state or other area, program, and type of benefit, December 2013,” July 2014. http://www.ssa.gov/ policy/docs/statcomps/supplement/2014/5j.html#table5.j2 27 Unpublished tabulations of Current Population Survey data for March 2011, 2012, and 2013, performed by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities for Social Security Works. The state-level data are averaged for the 3 years from 2010-2012, to increase reliability. Data for the United States as a whole are from 2012. 28 CBPP, unpublished, ibid. 29 SSA, Annual Statistical Supplement, 2014, “Table 5.J2—Number, by state or other area, program, and type of benefit, December 2013,” July 2014. http://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/statcomps/supplement/2014/5j.html#table5.j2 30 Monthly median benefit multiplied by 12 to calculate annual figure. SSA, Annual Statistical Supplement, 2014, “Table 5.J9—Percentage distribution of nondisabled widow(er)s, by state or other area and monthly benefit, December 2013,” July 2014. http://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/statcomps/ supplement/2014/5j.html#table5.j9 31 The data here are for disabled workers receiving disability benefits. It does not include those disabled workers and “disabled adult children” who receive old-age (retirement) or survivors benefits. In this report, any use of the term “disabled worker” will refer only to those disabled workers receiving disability benefits. 32 SSA, Annual Statistical Supplement, 2014, “Table 5.J2—Number, by state or other area, program, and type of benefit, December 2013,” July 2014. http://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/statcomps/supplement/2014/5j.html#table5.j2 33 Monthly median benefit multiplied by 12 to calculate annual figure. SSA, Annual Statistical Supplement, 2014, “Table 5.J8—Percentage distribution of disabled workers, by state or other area and monthly benefit, December 2013,” July 2014. http://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/statcomps/supplement/2014/5j. html#table5.j8 34 In this case, “children” refers to individuals under age 18, and includes neither disabled adult children, nor individuals aged 18-19. When discussing Social Security’s insurance protections for children, children under age 18 was considered the most appropriate group to reference in this analysis, since even students aged 18-19 receiving benefits as dependents of a disabled or deceased parent must have qualified for benefits before age 18. While disabled adult children may receive benefits for a severe disability sustained at age 18 or later, it must occur before age 22, meaning that a large proportion of beneficiaries will likely have begun receiving benefits before age 18 as well. Population under age 18: U.S. Census Bureau, “Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Selected Age Groups by Sex for the United States, States, Counties and Puerto Rico Commonwealth and Municipios: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2013,” 2013 Population Estimates, 2014. http://factfinder2.census.gov/. Data on percentage of children insured from SSA, Survivors Benefits, June 2013, p. 4. http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10084.pdf 35 SSA, Annual Statistical Supplement, 2014, “Table 5.J10—Number of children, by state or other area and type of benefit, December 2013,” July 2014. http://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/statcomps/supplement/2014/5j.html#table5.j10 36 U.S. Census Bureau, 2010-2012 American Community Survey 3-Year Estimates, “Relationship to Householder for Children under 18 Years in Households,” 2013. http://factfinder2.census.gov 37 The term “households” as it is used here refers to households reporting income in the past 12 months. Households receiving Social Security benefits are those households listed as receiving “Social Security income.” U.S. Census Bureau, 2010-2012 American Community Survey 3-Year Estimates, “Selected Population Profile in the United States,” 2013. http://factfinder2.census.gov/ 38 CBPP, unpublished, ibid. 39 CBPP, unpublished, ibid. 40 SSA, Income of the Population 55 or Older, 2012, Table 9.A3, April 2014. http://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/statcomps/income_pop55/2012/sect09. html#table9.a3 41 SSA, Social Security is Important for African Americans, April 2014. http://www.ssa.gov/news/press/factsheets/africanamer.htm This is the most recent statistically valid data available. 42 The term “households” as it is used here refers to households reporting income in the past 12 months. Households receiving Social Security benefits are those households listed as receiving “Social Security income.” U.S. Census Bureau, 2010-2012 American Community Survey 3-Year Estimates, “Selected Population Profile in the United States,” 2013. http://factfinder2.census.gov/ 43 CBPP, unpublished, ibid. 44 CBPP, unpublished, ibid. 45 SSA, Income of the Population 55 or Older, 2012, Table 9.A3, April 2014. http://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/statcomps/income_pop55/2012/sect09. html#table9.a3 46 SSA, Social Security is Important to Hispanics, April 2014. http://www.ssa.gov/news/press/factsheets/hispanics.htm. This is the most recent statistically valid data available. Fernando Torres-Gil et al., “Hispanics’ Large Stake in the Social Security Debate,” June 28, 2005. http://www.cbpp.org/files/6-2805socsec.pdf 47 The term “households” as it is used here refers to households reporting income in the past 12 months. Households receiving Social Security benefits are those households listed as receiving “Social Security income.” U.S. Census Bureau, 2010-2012 American Community Survey 3-Year Estimates, “Selected Population Profile in the United States,” 2013. http://factfinder2.census.gov/ 48 SSA, Social Security Is Important to American Indians and Alaska Natives, February 2013. http://www.ssa.gov/pressoffice/factsheets/amerindian-alt.pdf This is the most recent statistically valid data available. 49 SSA, Social Security I Important to American Indians and Alaska Natives, ibid. 50 The term “households” as it is used here refers to households reporting income in the past 12 months. Households receiving Social Security benefits are those households listed as receiving “Social Security income.” For states in which there are large numbers of Asian American residents as well as Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander residents, the numbers of beneficiaries and residents were added to calculate percentage of total Asian American, Social Security WorkS for ILLINOIS

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Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander residents receiving benefits. U.S. Census Bureau, 2010-2012 American Community Survey 3-Year Estimates, “Selected Population Profile in the United States,” 2013. http://factfinder2.census.gov/ 51 SSA, Income of the Population 55 or Older, 2012, Table 9.A3, April 2014. http://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/statcomps/income_pop55/2012/sect09. html#table9.a3 52 SSA, Social Security is Important to Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, April 2014. http://www.ssa.gov/news/press/factsheets/asian.htm. This is the most recent statistically valid data available. 53 SSA, OASDI Beneficiaries by State and County, 2013, July 2014. http://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/statcomps/oasdi_sc/ 54 Unpublished calculations of Social Security Administration and Bureau of Economic Analysis data performed by Dr. Roberto Gallardo, Mississippi State University Extension Service, on behalf of the Center for Rural Strategies, and shared with Social Security Works. For the purposes of this analysis, “rural” refers to counties designated by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) as non-metropolitan, including micropolitan areas, or “small cities,” with urban clusters of 10,000-49,999 people, and non-core areas lacking a centralized population of any kind. “Metropolitan” refers to counties with at least one urbanized area of 50,000 people or more, and adjacent counties in which 25 percent of the workforce or more commutes to county with 50,000 people or more. Dr. Gallardo’s initial calculations distinguished between “small cities” and “rural” counties. For Social Security Works, he created a weighted average of “small cities” and “rural” counties that allowed us to contrast metropolitan and non-metropolitan figures. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service (ERS), What is Rural?, May 10, 2013. http://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/rural-economy-population/rural-classifications/what-is-rural.aspx#. UeSGcGTTWGN 55 Latino and Asian American status are defined here by self-identification, not nativity, and “immigrants” refers to foreign-born residents of the United Statess refer to foreign-born Americans. ere by ethnicity, not nativity. e redistributive shifts in income from the bottom . U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2010-2012 3-Year Estimates, “Selected Population Profile in the United States,” 2013. http://factfinder2.census.gov/. Social Security provided all or nearly all of the income for over half (52.6 percent) of Latino senior households, and more than 4 in 10 (44.4 percent) Asian senior households in 2012, compared with one-third (34.6 percent) of white senior households. SSA, Income of the Population 55 or Older, 2012, Table 9.A3, April 2014. http://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/statcomps/income_pop55/2012/sect09.html#table9.a3 56 U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2010-2012,3-Year Estimates, “Selected Population Profile in the United States,” 2013. http:// factfinder2.census.gov/ 57 More than half (51 percent) of workers who retired earlier than expected in 2012 cited a health problem or disability as the cause. Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), “2012 Retirement Confidence Survey Fact Sheet #2: Changing Expectations About Retirement,” March 2012, p. 1. http://www. ebri.org/pdf/surveys/rcs/2012/fs-02-rcs-12-fs2-expect.pdf 58 Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), Hye Jin Rho, Hard Work? Patterns in Physically Demanding Labor Among Older Workers, Table 8, August 2010, p. 14. http://www.cepr.net/documents/publications/older-workers-2010-08.pdf 59 SSA, Office of the Chief Actuary, Estimated Long-Range Financial Effects on Social Security of the “Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act,” legislation introduced as S. 744 (113th Congress) by Senator Marco Rubio and passed by the Senate on June 27, 2013, February 2014. http://ssa.gov/oact/solvency/MRubio_20130627.pdf. At the time of the publication of this report, the US House of Representatives had yet to vote on the Senate’s immigration bill—or any other, for that matter. 60 SSA, “Social Security Defines Policy for Same-Sex Married Couples. Agency Extends Benefits Broadly, Subject to Legal Constraints,” June 20, 2014. http://www.ssa.gov/news/press/releases.html#!/post/6-2014-1. National Organization for Social Security Claimants’ Representatives, “SSA Begins Processing Claims for Same-Sex Couples,” September 26, 2013. http://www.nosscr.org/news/2013/09/ssa-begins-processing-claims-same-sex-couples. More on the financial loss experienced by same-sex couples and their children who are denied Social Security benefits here: National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare (NCPSSM) and Human Rights Campaign (HRC), Living Outside the Safety Net: LGBT Families and Social Security, February 2013. http://www.ncpssmfoundation.org/Portals/0/lgbt-report.pdf 61 Senator Patty Murray, “The Social Security and Marriage Equality (SAME) Act of 2014.” http://www.murray.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/50c5cddf96c2-4a14-879d-15c1c7b62650/same-act-bill-text-final.pdf 62 The Williams Institute, Marriage for Same-Sex Couples. http://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/headlines/marriage-for-same-sex-couples/ (accessed July 2, 2014) This is the most recent such data available. 63 The Williams Institute, ibid. 64 The Williams Institute, ibid. 65 Social Security does not contribute to the deficit, because benefits can only be paid from revenue collected by the Social Security trust funds—the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) trust fund and Disability Insurance (DI) trust fund—which are completely separate from the general budget. Social Security Trustees, 2014 Social Security Trustees Report, July 2014, Table II.B1. http://www.ssa.gov/oact/tr/2014/tr2014.pdf. The trust funds do not have borrowing authority, and therefore cannot deficit-spend. In the event that trust fund revenues fall short of what is needed to pay 100 percent of benefits, then, by law, benefits could not be paid in full and on time. That is why, if Congress does nothing to shore up the program’s finances by 2033, Social Security will only have sufficient revenue to pay about three-quarters of scheduled benefits through 2087. This modest funding shortfall is often cited as evidence that the program is financially unsustainable, or “in deficit.” In fact, it is just the opposite: it attests to Social Security’s self-sustaining funding structure that bars it from deficit-spending or borrowing from the general budget in any way. 66 White House, Office of Management and Budget, Table 1.1 Summary of Receipts, Outlays and Surpluses or Deficits: 1789-2018, 2013. http://www. whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/Historicals 67 Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), “U.S. Budget Deficits 2001-2013,” Analysis of Congressional Budget Office data, unpublished. 68 Social Security Trustees, 2014 Social Security Trustees Report, July 28, 2014. http://www.ssa.gov/oact/tr/2014/tr2014.pdf 69 Social Security Trustees, ibid. 70 Social Security Trustees, ibid. 71 Social Security Trustees, ibid., “Table VI.G4.—OASDI and HI Annual and Summarized Income, Cost, and Balance as a Percentage of GDP, Calendar Years 2014-90.” 72 National Academy of Social Insurance (NASI), Janice M. Gregory, Thomas N. Bethell, Virginia P. Reno and Benjamin W. Veghte, Strengthening Social Security for the Long Run, November 2010, p. 7. http://www.nasi.org/sites/default/files/research/SS_Brief_035.pdf 73 The most recent data on the percentage of workers with earnings below the taxable maximum are from 2011. SSA, Annual Statistical Supplement, 2013, “Table 4.B4—Percentage of workers with earnings below annual maximum taxable, by sex, selected years 1937–2011,” February 2014. http://www. ssa.gov/policy/docs/statcomps/supplement/2013/4b.html#table4.b4 74 SSA, “Benefits Planner: Maximum Taxable Earnings (1937-2014).” http://www.ssa.gov/planners/maxtax.htm (accessed July 1, 2014) 75 SSA, Provisions Affecting Payroll Taxes, “E2.1 Eliminate the taxable maximum in years 2013 and later, and apply full 12.4 percent payroll tax rate to all earnings. Do not provide benefit credit for earnings above the current-law taxable maximum,” January 4, 2013. http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/solvency/ provisions/charts/chart_run362.pdf Social Security WorkS for ILLINOIS

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76 United States Senate Special Committee on Aging, “Reduction in Face-to-Face Services at the Social Security Administration,” Summary of Committee Staff Investigation, May 2014. http://www.aging.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/SSA%20Hearing%20Staff%20Memo1.pdf 77 Strengthen Social Security Coalition, “Transition Report for the New Commissioner of Social Security: How to Ensure the World-Class Service the American People Deserve,” March 2013. http://www.socialsecurityworks.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Transition-Report-for-the-New-Commissionerof-Social-Security-How-to-Ensure-the-World-Class-Service-the-American-People-Deserve.pdf 78 Social Security Works analysis of SSA data. Social Security Works, Social Security COLA Cut: A Benefit Cut Affecting Everyone, 2013. http://www. strengthensocialsecurity.org/sites/default/files/Chained_CPI_Fact_Sheet_FINAL_Feb-2013_0.pdf 79 Center for Retirement Research at Boston College (CRR), Alicia H. Munnell, Anthony Webb, and Francesca Golub-Sass, The National Retirement Risk Index: An Update, October 2012, p. 3. http://crr.bc.edu/briefs/the-national-retirement-risk-index-an-update/ 80 This is a conservative estimate. The Center for Retirement Research at Boston College estimated that in 2006, just before the Great Recession, 44 percent of working-age households would be at risk of downward social mobility in retirement, but this percentage rose to 61 percent when health care costs were included, and to 64 percent when long term care costs were counted—an additional 21 percent. In its 2010 estimate, which projected that 53 percent of households were at-risk of not being able to maintain their living standards in retirement, the Center did not include an estimate of the additional share of households that would be at risk if health and long-term care costs were taken into account. If this additional share were equivalent to the 21 percent it amounted to in 2006, then more than 7 in 10 households would be at risk after taking into account health and long-term care costs. Alicia Munnell et al., “Health Care Costs Drive Up the National Retirement Risk Index,” no. 8-3, Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, (February 2008). http://crr.bc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/ib_8-3.pdf; Munnell et al., “The National Retirement Risk Index: An Update,” no. 12-20, Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, October 2012. http://crr.bc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/IB_12-20-508.pdf. 81 Just over half (52.9 percent) of all working heads of household are eligible for an employer-sponsored retirement plan; of that half, 4 in 5 (83.8 percent) elect to participate. The resulting total of all working heads of household who participate in an employer-sponsored retirement plans is 3 in 7 (44.6 percent). Federal Reserve, Changes in U.S. Family Finances from 2007 to 2010: Evidence from the Survey of Consumer Finances, June 2012, p. 38. http://www. federalreserve.gov/pubs/bulletin/2012/PDF/scf12.pdf 82 Federal Reserve, ibid., p. 30. 83 Nari Rhee, “The Retirement Savings Crisis: Is It Worse than We Think?” National Institute on Retirement Security, June 2013. http://www.nirsonline.org/ storage/nirs/documents/Retirement%20Savings%20Crisis/retirementsavingscrisis_final.pdf 84 Social Security Trustees, 2013 Social Security Trustees Report, “Table V.C7—Annual Scheduled Benefit Amounts for Retired Workers With Various Pre-Retirement Earnings Patterns Based on Intermediate Assumptions, Calendar Years 2013-90,” May 31, 2013, p. 145. http://www.ssa.gov/oact/tr/2013/ tr2013.pdf 85 CBPP analysis of OECD data, “Social Security: We’re Number…30!” May 11, 2011. http://www.offthechartsblog.org/social-securitywe%E2%80%99re-number%E2%80%A6-30/ 86 CBPP, Policy Basics: Top Ten Facts about Social Security, November 6, 2012. http://www.cbpp.org/files/PolicyBasics_SocSec-TopTen.pdf 87 CBPP, ibid. 88 The share going to the top 1 percent is even higher when one also considers the redistributive shifts in income from the bottom 90 percent upwards. From 1979-2012, the average income of all Americans grew by $9,442. The bottom 90 percent experienced negative 30.8% of total growth, while the top 1 percent got 84.5%, the top 1-5 percent got 31.6%, and the top 5-10 percent got 14.8% of total net growth. (These shares of total net growth add up, unrounded, to 100%.) Thomas Piketty and Emmanuel Saez, “Income Inequality in the United States, 1913-1998,” updated to 2012 by Emmanuel Saez at http://elsa.berkeley.edu/users/saez/.

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Key Facts about Social Security in ILLINOIS Social Security Works for Illinois’ Residents and Economy • Social Security provided benefits to 2,133,829 Illinois residents in 2013, 1 in 6 (16.6 percent) residents. • Illinois residents received Social Security benefits totaling $31.1 billion in 2013, an amount equivalent to 5.2 percent of the state’s total personal income. • The average Social Security benefit in Illinois was $14,559 in 2013. • Social Security lifted 807,000 Illinois residents out of poverty in 2012.

Social Security Works for Illinois’ Seniors • Social Security provided benefits to 1,433,504 Illinois retired workers in 2013, two-thirds (67.2 percent) of beneficiaries [Figure 1 in full report]. • Social Security lifted 585,000 Illinois residents aged 65 and older out of poverty in 2012. Without Social Security, the elderly poverty rate in Illinois would have increased from 1 in 12 (8.3 percent) to 3 in 7 (43.1 percent) [Figure 2 in full report].

Social Security Works for Illinois’ Workers with Disabilities • Social Security provided disability benefits to 291,729 workers in 2013, 1 in 7 (13.7 percent) Illinois beneficiaries [Figure 1 in full report].

Social Security Works for Illinois’ Women • Social Security provided benefits to 1,104,457 Illinois women in 2013, 1 in 6 (16.8 percent) Illinois women. • Social Security lifted 353,000 Illinois women aged 65 and older out of poverty in 2012. Without Social Security, the poverty rate of elderly women would have increased from 1 in 10 (10 percent) to half (46.7 percent) [Figure 2 in full report].

Social Security Works for Illinois’ Children • Social Security provided benefits to 157,893 Illinois children in 2013, 1 in 13 (7.4 percent) Illinois beneficiaries [Figure 1 in full report].

Social Security Works for Illinois’ People of Color • Social Security provided benefits to one-quarter (25.4 percent) of African American households in Illinois in 2012, 167,702 households. • Social Security provided benefits to 1 in 8 (13.3 percent) Latino households in Illinois in 2012, 68,255 households. • Social Security provided benefits to 1 in 5 (19.6 percent) American Indian and Alaska Native households in Illinois in 2012, 2,054 households. • Social Security provided benefits to 1 in 7 (14.5 percent) Asian American, Hawaiian Native, and Pacific Islander households in Illinois in 2012, 28,103 households.

Social Security Works for Illinois’ Rural Communities • One-quarter (22.9 percent) of rural or non-metropolitan Illinois residents received Social Security in 2013, compared with 1 in 6 (15.7 percent) metropolitan Illinois residents.

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