U.S. public policy typically encourages saving. Our retirement system has undergone a major transformation over the past four decades, shifting workers to an individual savings-based system. Public policy supports saving for college costs, health costs, and emergencies, so it seems odd when a specific group of Americans is denied the ability to save, but that is precisely the situation facing people who receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits.
Established in 1974 by President Nixon and run by the Social Security Administration, SSI provides financial assistance to individuals who have limited income and resources, including those who are 65 or older, blind, or disabled. Unlike Social Security benefits, SSI is not based on work history. Instead, it is a needs-based program funded by general tax revenues, not Social Security contributions. The goal of SSI is to help eligible people cover basic expenses like food, clothing, and shelter. As of February 2025, approximately 7.4 million individuals were receiving SSI payments, which includes one million children.
Is America’s Retirement System Failing Future Retirees?
In a Forbes column, NIRS Executive Director Dan Doonan writes that as America ages and income inequality deepens, concerns about retirement security are mounting. Some voices, however, indicate that retirement concerns are exaggerated, relying on data indicating that older Baby Boomers have largely fared well in retirement. But new research published in The Journal of Retirement […]
National Institute on Retirement Security to Hold Retirement Policy Conference in Washington, D.C.
MEDIA ADVISORY National Institute on Retirement Security to Hold Retirement Policy Conference on March 3 – 4 in Washington, D.C. February 20, 2025, Washington, D.C. – The National Institute on Retirement Security (NIRS) will hold its 16th Annual Retirement Policy Conference, Choices, Challenges, and Opportunities | Strengthening Our Retirement Infrastructure, in Washington, D.C. At the […]
Rhode Island Is The Latest State To Help Americans Lacking A Retirement Plan At Their Job
In a Forbes column, Dan Doonan writes the Rhode Island made news this month when it became the twentieth state to establish a state-facilitated retirement savings program and the seventeenth to do so with an auto-IRA model. This action by the Rhode Island legislature means every state in New England, except New Hampshire, will now […]
U.S. public policy typically encourages saving. Our retirement system has undergone a major transformation over the past four decades, shifting workers to an individual savings-based system. Public policy supports saving for college costs, health costs, and emergencies, so it seems odd when a specific group of Americans is denied the ability to save, but that is precisely the situation facing people who receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits.
