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Retired IAM General Secretary-Treasurer and current Alliance for Retired Americans President Robert Roach Jr. testified on Capitol Hill for adequate funding for Social Security that could help to prevent identity fraud.
The May 24 subcommittee hearing included testimonies on Social Security identity theft and long-term solutions to this problem.
“Members of the Alliance and Americans nationwide are concerned about the threat of identity theft,” said Roach during his testimony. “If the Social Security Administration, which is already short staffed, was forced to cut its budget, the agency’s work to protect Americans from Social Security number identity theft and other fraud would be hampered.”
Millions of Social Security beneficiaries depend on this benefit program as part of their income and any funding cuts could be detrimental to their livelihoods.
“The importance of Social Security cannot be overstated,” said Roach. “The decline of traditional pension plans and decades of stagnant or declining real wages have made it harder for individuals to save for retirement and Social Security has become a larger part of Americans’ retirement income.”
Throughout the years, active and retired IAM members have advocated for increasing earned Social Security benefits and for measures that secure its solvency.
The Social Security Administration must have adequate funding to stay afloat but also to strengthen its capabilities to combat identity fraud and other issues as they arise.
Watch Robert Roach’s testimony here.
The Alliance for Retired Americans is a grassroots advocacy organization with 4.4 million members. Founded by the AFL-CIO in 2001, the alliance now has 39 state alliances and members in every state.
