At best, social security might be enough to cover a handful of bills for most people, but in a lot of places it’s not enough to even make rent. In 45 states, it doesn’t even cover 50% of the cost of living (make that 46 if you count Washington, DC.) The absolute best state in the country is Arkansas, and even there it doesn’t even provide 60% of the cost of living. Our visualization signals an ugly truth: social security hardly affords anyone a decent standard of living on its own. We are including the percentage of living expenses that an average social security benefit will cover. These are the ten states with the largest gaps between what social security pays out and the cost of living. We then plotted the average monthly social security benefit of $1,295 to determine which states have the biggest problems in terms of affordability for people relying on the program for most (or all) of their expenses. We stack ranked each state based on the total cost of living, taking into account median rent, average grocery bills, utilities, transportation and healthcare costs. We originally found the data for our visualization from GoBankingRates, which in turn collected the underlying information from the Social Security Administration, the Missouri Department of Economic Development and Zillow. Our new visualization highlights yet another key problem. It’s a great idea in theory, but in reality there are a few structural problems to consider, not the least of which is how the Social Security Administration is now tapping into its trust fund to make payouts. Once someone becomes eligible for benefits, he or she relies on the government to make distributions. Workers and employers pay into the system for several years. The bargain is simple enough to understand. There are a few different ways to become eligible, including reaching retirement age, becoming the widow of a former beneficiary, blind or disabled. Social security was initially intended as a safety net to keep people out of poverty.
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