Rural Communities Rely on Social Security Income Nearly TWICE as Much as Non-Rural Communities

Rural Communities Rely on Social Security Income Nearly Twice as Much as Non-Rural Communities

The President's Social Security privatization proposal would devastate America's rural communities. With higher percentages of senior citizens, residents who depend on Social Security's disability insurance, and elderly women, rural communities depend on income from Social Security nearly twice as much as non-rural communities. Currently, 13 percent of rural seniors live in poverty, whereas only 9 percent of seniors in metropolitan areas are poor. Poverty also increases as seniors age, with fully one fifth of rural seniors over age 85 living in poverty. Social Security is crucial to the economic independence of rural seniors who have worked hard and paid taxes for their entire lives. Cuts to Social Security benefits would swell the ranks of the rural poor to levels not seen since the Great Depression. Read how Social Security privatization will hurt rural communities in your state: