Social Security is known as the third rail of politics. As such, presidents, senators and congressional members have generally steered clear of trying to change the program. Many politicians have offered ideas, but few substantial changes have been offered to the program, which is still considered one of America’s most successful social programs.
Millions of Americans rely on Social Security benefits to survive, but many times the benefits are not enough to provide for a decent standard of living. Anyone who is in favor of reducing Social Security benefits should look at what other countries provide in similar types of benefits.
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities recently published a chart that showed what percentage of work earnings were replaced by Social Security benefits for 34 different countries and the United States ranked near the bottom, 29th to be precise.
Social Security benefits provide less than 40 percent of a worker’s earnings when they retire or become disabled. Considering this, an American worker has to figure out how to replace 60 percent of their income when they retire to maintain their current living standard, and sadly, most Americans are unable to maintain their current living standard.
Other countries, such as the Netherlands, Spain and Italy are much more generous in providing Social Security benefits. The Netherlands, which is at the top of the list, replaces about 90 percent of a worker’s earnings through Social Security benefits. Spain provides more than 80 percent and Italy provides about 65 percent.
Those who want to cut Social Security benefits would never bring up how America compares to other countries in regard to the percentage of income that is replaced by Social Security benefits. And advocates who are in favor of increasing Social Security benefits get lambasted for wanting to increase taxes. Understanding how other countries take care of their retired and disabled workers is an eye-opening fact that all Americans should be aware of when it comes to the debate of Social Security.
