Immigrants’ Taxes Help Save the Social Security System

American Immigration Council’s Immigration Impact reminds us of the importance of the contributions of undocumented immigrants to the survival of Social Security in the United States.

Social Security is projected to become insolvent in only a decade and a half if current trends continue. According to Social Security’s board of trustees, the system “will be depleted in 2034.” Social Security’s costs are projected to exceed its income in 2018 “for the first time since 1982.” The system needs more workers who are paying in while older Americans retire and begin collecting Social Security benefits.

This is where immigrants come in:  Unauthorized immigrants are therefore extending the life span of the Social Security system. In 2016, the most recent year for which data is available, unauthorized immigrants added $13.3 billion to Social Security. This comes on top of the $3.3 billion they added to Medicare and the $9.4 billion they poured into state and local tax coffers.  Click the link above for more details.

KJ