Trump's flagship tax and spending law just made fixing America's leading retirement program that much harder.

In May, the average monthly Social Security retired-worker benefit made history by topping $2,000 for the first time in the program's storied history. Though this isn't a payment that's going to make aging workers rich, it has proved vital to helping them make ends meet.

Based on an analysis from the nonpartisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the poverty rate for retirees aged 62 and over would jump from 10.1% (as of 2023) to an estimated 37.3% if Social Security didn't exist. Separate annual surveys from Gallup covering almost a quarter of a century have shown that 80% to 90% of retirees rely on their monthly Social Security income , in some capacity, to cover their

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