14 August 2020
Data: AARP survey of 1,441 U.S. adults conducted July 14–27, 2020 a ±3.4% margin of error at the 95% confidence level; Chart: Naema Ahmed/Axios
Younger Americans are increasingly concerned that Social Security won't be enough to wholly fall back on once they retire, according to a survey conducted by AARP — in honor of today's 85th anniversary of the program — given first to Axios.
Why it matters: Young people's concerns about financial insecurity once they're on a restricted income are rising — and that generation is worried the program, which currently pays out to 65 million beneficiaries, won't be enough to sustain them.
Details: Of the respondents who said they weren't confident in the future of the Social Security system, "money running out" of the fund and "not trusting the government to keep its promises" were cited as the top reasons for worry.
- By the numbers: 72% of respondents told AARP they did not think Social Security checks would be enough to get by on, a worry that was most pronounced among those aged 30-49.
Yes, but: A separate finding from retirement trade group LIMRA says younger non-retired workers don't expect to rely on Social Security as their main source of income. Instead, the group is betting they live longer — and thus have increased health costs and other living expenses — and will require a bigger nest egg than previous generations.
- Per LIMRA, Americans aged 40-54 say they expect just 20% of their income to come from Social Security. Compare that with the 53% of retirees today who say Social Security is their primary source of income.
The state of play: Trump's executive action on payroll tax deferral — and recent comments that opened the door to his support of a permanent payroll tax cut — stoked concerns that the funding stream for Social Security could be in jeopardy. (Since 2016, Trump has promised he wouldn't touch Social Security).
- Industry leaders, including AARP's CEO, are calling on Trump to spell out a replacement source of funding for the program.
- The system has already been hit as payroll tax receipts are walloped from the coronavirus recession that's caused tens of millions of Americans to lose work. Jobless workers don't pay payroll taxes — and the employer no longer has to pay in for those workers' share.
- One model by the University of Pennsylvania estimates the Social Security retirement fund could run dry in 2032 in a worst-case scenario — a timeline that's accelerated from the previous projection of 2036 since the pandemic hit.
The intrigue: The AARP survey found that respondents' plans to rely on Social Security are nearly identical across party lines.
- A majority of respondents of all political stripes were concerned that their retirement savings could be wiped out at any time by a major health care expense or recession (which we are in now).
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.