MANCHESTER – Events were held throughout the state to celebrate the 90th anniversary of Social Security and one of them was enjoyed at the Somebody Cares headquarters in Whiting.
The AARP organized the event that featured free ice cream distributed by a Mr. Softee truck along with other giveaways.
The observance drew a good-sized crowd, and featured Ocean County Senior Services, County Commissioner Robert Arace, Council Vice President James Vaccaro, Councilwoman Sandy Drake and the mayor’s confidential aide Judy Noonan.
The celebration occurs amidst growing concerns about the program’s long-term solvency, making public awareness and support for its protection more crucial than ever.
While the Whiting event was more of an ice cream social, other activities that commemorated the milestone program which also served to advocate for its future protection took the form of teletown halls, webinars and calls to action to ensure the program’s continued stability for future generations.
The Social Security Administration (SSA) marked the 90th anniversary of the Social Security Act with a Presidential proclamation and a public commitment to protect the program, according to the SSA blog.
New Jersey AARP Communications Lead Ali McSherry spoke with The Manchester Times expressing why this anniversary was significant. Social Security provides a vital financial foundation for millions of Americans, including retired workers, the disabled, and survivors. The 90th anniversary is being viewed as a moment to reaffirm the nation’s promise of retirement without poverty, ensuring dignity and peace of mind for seniors.
“At this site we have four amazing volunteers – some of whom live more than an hour away – who came out to help us celebrate and get the word out to the community about the importance of social security. We all paid into it for ourselves for our children and for our grandchildren,” she added.
McSherry said, “It is such an important program and we want to celebrate it and see it continue for another 90 years.” She shared some information about how Americans feel, their concerns and what they know about Social Security through a new AARP survey.
That survey confirms that Americans across generations and political parties highly value Social Security and believe it is more important than ever. Of Americans 18 and older, 67% believe Social Security is more important to the lives of retirees now compared to five years ago and 39% say they do or will substantially rely on Social Security for their retirement income. Four in five Americans 18 and older rely on or plan to rely on Social Security at least somewhat as a source of income in retirement, including 74% of those 18-49.
The survey also listed that 74% of Americans are worried they won’t be able to afford to live independently as they age. Confidence in the future of Social Security has declined seven percentage points since 2020 from 43% to 36 percent.
Four in 10 Americans 50 and older did not know the earliest claiming age and 66% did not know the age to maximize payments.
The Whiting location was one of several across the state that had an ice cream truck. “We figured who doesn’t like ice cream on a 90-degree day? Somebody Cares has been really wonderful to work with. They helped us to get the word out to the community and they let us use their parking lot. We have people who have been coming from all over. We had one woman who said her church had a movie screened this afternoon and they all came over for ice cream afterwards so we are pleased with the turnout,” McSherry added.
Just beyond the AARP tent and the crimson shirted volunteers and the Mr. Softee ice cream truck was an Ocean County Senior Services vehicle. “About 164,000 people in Ocean County are getting Social Security. It is a really huge part of people’s earnings in their retirement and we want to protect that for generations to come. People have paid into it and they have paid that money,” McSherry added.
She noted that “6,000 children are receiving Social Security in the county. It is people across the spectrum that really rely on this program to keep them afloat.”
McSherry added that AARP “is committed to do everything we can to make the Garden State a great place to age comfortably. We have a really big outreach program where do events in the community. We have health living classes online, brain exercises and yoga and movies that you can see for free with some friends and socialize.” Manahawkin was another Ocean County site that was celebrating the anniversary.
AARP representatives that were present were part of the big national observance noted its legacy and the importance of its protection. Many advocacy groups, like the National Institute on Retirement Security and Common Dreams used the occasion to issue statements and encourage public engagement to protect Social Security from threats.
