John, I wanted to be sure you saw this--over 10,000 people have already made their voices heard about housing costs. Can you add your vote?

-Michael

John,

A few years ago, Social Security Works asked our members a simple question: Should we get involved in the fight to lower prescription drug prices?

The results were overwhelming―about 90% of you responded to our one-click poll in the affirmative. And it’s no surprise why: About one-third of every Social Security check is consumed by medical costs, with prescription drugs taking up the bulk of that.

Thanks to our work, federal and state governments are actually taking action to lower drug prices. Insulin costs are capped for people on Medicare and many other Americans. Medicare has begun to negotiate lower drug prices. President Biden is beginning to make sure that when tax dollars fund the development of medicine, taxpayers can actually afford the medicine. There’s more work to do, but momentum is on our side.

There’s another big problem for people on Social Security―one that’s getting worse every year: Housing costs.

The average Social Security beneficiary spends nearly one-third of their income on housing.¹ Clearly, the rent is too damn high. That percentage rises every year―and because people on Social Security spend more of their income on housing than other groups, Social Security’s COLA doesn’t increase benefits by enough to keep up. This makes out-of-control housing costs a de facto Social Security cut.

The solution to the housing crisis isn’t simple. We’ll be up against wealthy developers, exclusionary residential organizations, and greedy landlords. But this is a fight that must be won, or housing costs will keep cutting into Social Security checks and make retirement impossible.

Thank you,

Alex Lawson
Social Security Works

¹ https://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/research-summaries/housing-expenditures.html