"Without the Stability of Social Security, Would More Women Be in Poverty?"

Without Social Security, Poverty Rate of Women Would Increase Dramatically. Without Social Security, over 50 percent (52.4 percent) of female seniors would be in poverty; without Social Security, 61.1 percent of African American women, 55.3 percent Hispanic women, and 50.8 percent of white women would be in poverty. (U.S. Census Bureau, "Poverty Status of People, by Age, Race, and Hispanic Origin: 1959 to 2003"; AARP Public Policy Institute, "Social Security and Women: Some Facts," October 2003)