Today, Aug. 14, across the nation and right here in New York, we celebrate 90 years since President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law in 1935. What started as a bold promise to America’s workers in the depths of the Great Depression has grown into one of the most successful and beloved programs in our nation’s history.
Nearly one in five New Yorkers — 3.76 million people — rely on Social Security. That includes retirees, but also people with disabilities and children whose parents have passed away. And those payments don’t just support individuals — they pump more than $79 billion into New York’s economy each year.
Social Security helps people stay in their homes, put food on the table, afford life-saving prescriptions, and pay the bills. For 38% of older New Yorkers, it provides at least half their income. For 836,000 New Yorkers age 65 and older, it’s the only reason they aren’t living in poverty.
This is personal. We all know someone — our parents, grandparents, neighbors — who depends on Social Security. Most of us are paying into the program ourselves, counting on it to be there when we retire. We’ve earned our slice of the Social Security pie, and we deserve to know it will be there when we need it.
That’s why AARP New York is going all in to celebrate Social Security’s legacy while pushing for the reforms needed to strengthen it for generations to come. Across the state, we’re bringing communities together to share their “slice of the story” over one of New York’s most beloved icons: pizza.
Today, we’ll light up the skyline in red, white, and blue at legendary landmarks — including Times Square, One World Trade Center, Grand Central Terminal, and Niagara Falls — to honor 90 years of dependable support for millions of Americans.
Let’s be clear: Social Security is not going broke. It’s a pay-as-you-go system funded by payroll taxes. As long as people are working, money will keep going into the system. But it’s facing long-term funding challenges. According to the latest Social Security Trustees’ report, if Congress doesn’t act, benefits could be reduced by about 20% in 2034. That’s just nine years away.
The numbers tell a clear story. More than 67 million Americans rely on Social Security, and for 24 million people, it provides the majority of their income — often the difference between stability and crisis. In turn, it supports small businesses and strengthens entire communities.
During the 65 years that AARP has been fighting to protect Social Security, our nation’s leaders from both parties have supported it. In the past, lawmakers came together, Democrats and Republicans, to protect Social Security for the long haul. They did it in 1983 when they enacted the Social Security Amendments of 1983, a bipartisan effort to address both short-term financing issues and long-term solvency challenges facing the Social Security system. They can and must do it again.
And as we fight to protect benefits, we must also fix a growing crisis of customer service at the Social Security Administration. Right now, too many older adults are facing hours-long wait times, confusing processes, and poor communication from the Social Security Administration. In New York, we’ve heard from people waiting months for paperwork or giving up altogether because they can’t get help.
Nationally, average call wait times jumped from 61 minutes in September 2024 to 99 minutes in March 2025. Fewer than 40% of people calling the main Social Security Administration line are able to speak to a representative. These aren’t just statistics; they’re barriers to essential support. With 10,000 Americans turning 65 every day, that’s unacceptable.
Social Security Administration’s new leadership must make customer service a top priority, and Congress must ensure the agency has the staffing and oversight to meet the needs of the American people.
For 90 years, Social Security has never missed a payment. It has kept generations of Americans out of poverty and given them dignity in retirement. It’s done what it was built to do. Now it’s our turn to do our part: to make sure it’s there for the next 90 years and beyond.
AARP will never stop fighting to protect Social Security. We’re urging every New Yorker to learn more, speak out, and join us in this fight. Our future financial security depends on what we do now. We can close the gap, strengthen the program, and ensure that this bedrock promise to the American people remains unbroken. Because we earned our slice, and our kids and grandkids deserve theirs too.
Finkel is the state director of AARP New York.
