Social Security protects families in the event that a worker retires, becomes disabled or dies. These guaranteed insurance benefits are especially crucial to people of color who tend to have fewer alternative resources, become disabled at higher rates, and disproportionately rely on Social Security's family benefit features. Social Security provides many elderly Hispanics with their sole or primary source of income in retirement. Today's Hispanic workers are concentrated in low-wage jobs that typically lack pension coverage. Hispanics experience high poverty and underemployment, and have less ability to save and invest for retirement than most other Americans. Because of low income throughout their working lives, elderly Hispanics may not have been able to accumulate savings, and may depend almost exclusively on Social Security for their retirement income. Therefore, preserving the current system with its guaranteed benefits is crucial for Hispanics.
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