Social Security
Steve Beck
Older Americans: Aging Well, Living Well
By Steve Beck
Social Security
Manager in Canarsie

May is Older Americans Month, and Social Security joins the Admin-istration on Aging and other organizations around the nation in celebrating the occasion.

The theme for this year’s observance is "Aging Well, Living Well." This theme was chosen to recognize the fact that older Americans are living longer, healthier and more productive lives. As the Administration on Aging has noted, "older persons are not only adding years to their lives, they are also improving the quality of their lives."

While older Americans lead very diverse lives and many continue to work, the truth is that about 4 of 5 men over age 65 and 9 of 10 women over age 65 are retired. Happiness in retirement can depend in large measure on whether retirees have enough money to enjoy themselves and "live well."

Those of us at Social Security are proud of the role that we play in providing an economic foundation for older Americans. Social Security pays monthly retirement benefits to more than 32 million retired workers and their family members. And more than nine in 10 Americans who are age 65 or older get Social Security benefits.

The average monthly Social Security benefit for a retired worker is a little more than $900, the average monthly benefit for a retired worker and his or her spouse is about $1,525. Older Ame-ricans Month might also be a good time to look to the future and to the prospects of coming generations for "living well."

A highly-respected 2004 retirement survey said that about 60 percent of today’s workers do not expect their standard of living to decline when they retire. However, the same survey re-ported that 45 percent of all workers have total assets (excluding their homes) of less than $25,000.

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