African Americans and Social Security: The Facts

As I watch President Bush ramble on about Black History Month, I think it's time to correct some misinformation he is knowingly spreading about African Americans and Social Security.

President Bush has repeatedly claimed that the current Social Security system is unfair to African Americans since African Americans have a lower life expectancy than other Americans. In fact, that statistic is shaped mainly by black males who die at a young age -- and not retirees. According to the NY Times and other sources, African American men who live to 65 generally collect benefits for 14.6 years, just short of the rate of 16.6 years for white men.

The NAACP is strongly opposed to the administration's Social Security proposal. Dennis Hayes, the NAACP's interim president and CEO, said: “Social Security is the only source of income for one in three African Americans over the age of 65. Without the guaranteed Social Security benefits they receive today, the poverty rate among older African Americans would more than double, pushing these seniors into squalor and poverty during their most vulnerable years.

“President Bush’s assertion that Social Security is a bad deal for African Americans because our life expectancy is shorter than whites is misleading because it assumes that blacks will forever die sooner than whites. Rather than privatize Social Security, the administration should take steps to improve health care as a means to decrease the black mortality rate."