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NEWS RELEASE
| For Immediate Release |
Contact: Nancy Hwa |
July 12, 2011
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202-296-3776, nhwa@pensionrights.org |
AS DEFICIT REDUCTION DEBATE RAGES, GROUPS TELL CONGRESS TO
“HALT THE ASSAULT ON RETIREMENT SECURITY”
WASHINGTON – While Congress fights over how to cut the federal budget deficit, 28 national organizations sent a letter to key members of Congress today, warning that proposed cuts to Social Security, Medicare, and traditional pensions would harm the retirement security of millions of retirees. The letter marks the launch of a new campaign to “Halt the Assault on Retirement Security,” led by Retirement USA, an initiative committed to promoting comprehensive retirement solutions.
In the letter, the groups point to the potentially devastating effect that Social Security cuts would have on retirees:
Cuts to Social Security’s cost of living adjustments will lead to significant reductions in benefits for millions of vulnerable older Americans…These proposed cuts in Social Security are the latest salvo in a broad-based attack on retirement security. They follow proposed reductions in Medicare benefits; wide-ranging efforts to reduce many state retirement benefits for teachers, firefighters, and other valuable public servants; and the decimation of secure pensions in the private sector…We are calling on you to halt the assault on retirement security.
The groups warn that proposed cuts will increase another deficit – the Retirement Income Deficit, which currently stands at $6.6 trillion. Calculated by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, the Retirement Income Deficit is the gap between what Americans have saved for retirement as of today and what they should have saved by today in order to meet basic needs in retirement.
The letter can be viewed at http://www.retirement-usa.org/sites/default/files/110712_halt_the_assault_letter_to_congress.pdf.
The 28 organizations that signed the letter are
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Pension Rights Center