Texas AFL-CIO E-Mail News Nov. 21, 2014
Retirees: Immigration Changes Could Bolster Social Security, Medicare
Our Brothers and Sisters in the Alliance for Retired Americans report that President Obama’s action on immigration has the potential to strengthen Social Security and Medicare by bringing more young workers into the system:
The following statement was issued today by Barbara J. Easterling, President of the Alliance for Retired Americans, and Richard Fiesta, Executive Director of the Alliance for Retired Americans, in response to President Obama’s unveiling of executive action on immigration on Thursday.
“Not only would President Obama’s executive action protect 5 to 8 million aspiring Americans from deportation and extend the Dream Act, it would also help strengthen the Social Security and Medicare Trust Funds.
“According to the Center for American Progress, if 85% of undocumented workers were to pay Social Security payroll taxes, those workers would add $1.2 trillion into the Social Security Trust Fund during the 36 years when Social Security will be most affected by Baby Boomers’ retirements. (http://tinyurl.com/qctsjlj)
“Since the average undocumented worker today is 36-years-old, most immigrants will pay into the Social Security and Medicare systems for at least 20 years if given the chance. Furthermore, if 85% of undocumented workers contributed to Medicare, they would pay $253 billion into the Medicare Trust Fund over 20 years. Since Medicare is estimated to provide only $51 billion in Medicare Part A services during that time, undocumented immigrants’ net contribution to the trust fund over the next 20 years would be $202 billion.
“For more information on how to apply for this administrative relief, please visit iAmerica (http://iamerica.org), a resource for American immigrant families of all walks of life, providing tools and support to get informed, inspire change and impact America’s future. For more information about issues affecting retirees, please sign up for the Friday Alert at http://retiredamericans.org.”