Eva Roberts, a 65-year-old Riverhead resident, is supposed to be entering her golden years. But the reality is different for her. Born in 1959, she won’t qualify for full Social Security benefits until May 2026, two months before she turns 67.
While uncertain whether she will apply for benefits then, Roberts knows she will need to continue transporting students as a Riverhead Central School District driver to support herself. Roberts also fills in as a school bus monitor and said she’s trying “to put together some kind of a survival plan” for her economic future. Her plan to keep working is also based on worries about potential injury or illness.
She is part of a trend of older Americans staying in the workforce, which experts at Pew Research Center say is partly due to changes in Social Security retirement benefits. The Social Security system has gradually shifted the original age for full retirement benefits from 65 to 67. Amendments made in 1983 tried to protect the program’s solvency.
Those born after 1960 must be 67 to qualify for full benefits. However, recent age adjustments and financial challenges that could impact the program’s future have Roberts and other Long Islanders nearing retirement age concerned about their benefits and how they will get by financially in old age. “What are people going to do?”
It will result in people being unable to pay for rent, which is very expensive, or their mortgage. There are people at the lower end of finances who haven’t been able to put their money into other funds,” said Roberts. Huntington resident Leann Pisano, 58, said she has started to think about how many more years she’ll need to keep working.
Pisano returned to school in her 50s and graduated last year with a nursing degree to find more stable work. She estimates she’ll need to work until she’s 72. “I’m very worried—how am I going to survive?” Pisano said.
Concerns loom over retirement security
I can’t trust all the money I paid all these years to help me retire.”
According to the Social Security Administration, the retirement benefit is a monthly check intended to replace some of the income older Americans lose when they stop working or reduce their working hours. Payroll taxes finance the system, and one requirement to qualify is having worked and paid those taxes for 10 years or more.
However, Social Security Administration officials have said that by 2033, the program is projected to cut 21% of people’s retirement benefits because of depleted funding. The problem stems from increased life expectancy and declining fertility rates. The program’s increased costs have not kept up with taxable payroll, a trend that is expected to continue until 2040.
Additionally, there are more beneficiaries from the baby boomer generation than people who are working. According to Gerry Hafer, Social Security adviser at the AMAC Foundation, a nonprofit based in Florida that advocates for older Americans, potential slashes to the program would apply to everyone across the board, both people receiving benefits and future recipients. Even if the worst-case scenario of reducing benefits by 21% is averted, there still are concerns that seniors will face more financial hurdles with the retirement age going up, some Long Islanders said in interviews.
Hodges, chief customer officer at the Virginia-based National Council on Aging, believes increasing the full retirement age is a benefit cut that will disproportionately impact lower-income, older adults. He said more than 40% of people across the country start their benefits at age 62, which means a smaller permanent benefit for the rest of their lives—about 30% less. “People are relying more on low-income benefits.
People are relying more on other opportunities, such as handouts because there are no alternatives,” Hodges said. “Ultimately, the conversation we should be having is about increasing revenue, not cutting benefits for people who have paid into the system for their entire lives.”
Clariona Griffith, a Hempstead Village trustee, said many older people in her community are having a hard time retiring, and even when they do, they often need to supplement their income with a job. “You already worked half your life, and now to push the numbers even higher is not a benefit to anybody,” Griffith said of the age adjustments.
“A lot of people are not happy. They have to work the additional time, and even if they do retire, the bottom line is with the cost of living, inflation, and everything going up, it will be very difficult.
The concerns about financial stability in retirement are leading many older Americans to remain in the workforce longer than they might have hoped. The shifting age for full Social Security benefits is a significant factor in these decisions, as many must continue working to make ends meet.
Long Islanders like Eva Roberts and Leann Pisano exemplify the challenges those approaching retirement age face in uncertain economic times.
Featured Image Credit: Photo by Kampus Production; Pexels
