Senior poverty climbs just as Social Security future is in question

Senior poverty climbs just as Social Security future is in question.

Key points

• "Social Security benefits decreased the SPM rate by 8.5 percentage points, lifting 28.8 million people above the poverty line, " the Census Bureau report remarked.
• The overall SPM rate for all Americans was 13.1%, up from 13%.
• More seniors sank into poverty for the fifth straight year in 2025, according to the U.S.
• After the pandemic, before creeping up again, data show, all other age groups saw a dip in 2021.
• Senators elected in November will be part of the class that either lets Social Security's trust fund run dry or reform the program, analysts observed.

Senior poverty climbs just as Social Security future is in question. Medora Lee USA TODAY. The hidden crisis facing millions of young adults.

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More seniors sank into poverty for the fifth straight year in 2025, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's annual poverty report.

For context, the poverty rate for Americans ages 65 and up jumped in 2025 to 15.4%, the highest poverty rate of all age groups based on the supplemental poverty measure (SPM). SPM includes non-cash benefits but subtracts necessary expenses such as taxes and medical care, and is considered a better measure of poverty trends and the effectiveness of administration benefits programs than the official poverty measure. The overall SPM rate for all Americans was 13.1%, up from 13%.

When the rate was 9.4%, and the tally has risen to more than 10 million individuals, data show, seniors are the only group that has seen a rise in its poverty rate every year since 2020. After the pandemic, before creeping up again, data show, all other age groups saw a dip in 2021. The jump to 15.4% from 9.4% additionally was the largest rise among all age groups.

In practice, the poverty rate growth comes as politicians face a crucial deadline to save Social Security from sweeping benefits cuts. The trust fund that supplements incoming payroll taxes to pay monthly Social Security benefits is projected to be depleted in the last three months of 2032. It would force an immediate across-the-board 22% benefits cut, the Board of Trustees report remarked.

"Each year since 2020, more and more older adults have fallen into abject poverty, " remarked Claire Casey, president of AARP Foundation, the charitable and philanthropic arm of the nonprofit AARP. It serves Americans ages 50 and older. The data "confirms what we see every day in our work – that rising prices, an eroding social safety net and diminishing access to quality jobs are creating extreme precarity for older adults in our communities." Social Security is a lifeline.

Without Social Security, poverty among seniors could have been even higher, the report suggested.

"Social Security benefits decreased the SPM rate by 8.5 percentage points, lifting 28.8 million people above the poverty line, " the Census Bureau report remarked. "Social Security was the largest antipoverty program in 2025, especially for those 65 years and older. Over 70% of the individuals pulled out of poverty by Social Security (20.9 million individuals) fell into that age group." What's happening with Social Security?

For the past 16 years, the cost of Social Security's retirement program has exceeded the amount it receives from taxes collected from paychecks, forcing it to dip into its trust fund reserves to cover the shortfall. Last year, the trust fund was forecast to run out in 2033. Then, in August, the date was moved up to the end of 2032 since of tax provisions in the One Sizeable Beautiful Bill Act that passed a little more than a year ago.

If Congress doesn't act and allows the trust fund to empty, the program will pay out only what the administration collects in taxes. On average, beneficiaries would lose regarding $500 a month, the nonprofit Committee for a Responsible Budget estimates.

"This would be devastating to older adults, and especially low-income older adults who don't have any other income or resources to fall back on, " remarked Tracey Thomas Gronniger, managing director of economic security and housing at national nonprofit legal advocacy organization Justice in Aging. "Congress has time to act, but if they don't, many low-income seniors could be pushed into poverty."

"These insolvency dates may feel abstract and far away, but the reality is that the senators elected in 2026 will be in office when Social Security reaches insolvency, " remarked Margaret Spellings, president and chief executive of the Bipartisan Policy Center. "The question is no longer whether these challenges demand attention. It is whether Washington will find the will to act." Share your feedback to support improve our site!

Taken together, the developments around senior poverty climbs just as Social Security future is in question point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.