· In Alaska, 12 percent of adults receive Social Security benefits, of which 52 percent are women and 48 percent are men. About 26,000 women, 25,000 men and 8,000 children rely on Social Security benefits in the state. (Social Security Administration and U.S. Census Bureau)

· Women represent 52 percent of all people 65 and older in Alaska who rely on Social Security benefits. (Social Security Administration) Social Security is important for the economic security of elderly women.

· Without Social Security, 54 percent of elderly women in the United States would be poor. (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities; sample size too small to obtain reliable estimate for Alaska) Social Security is more than a worker retirement program.

· Many Social Security recipients in Alaska are not retired workers. They receive benefits either as the widow or widower, spouse or child of a worker, or as a disabled worker. The overwhelming majority of these 25,000 beneficiaries are women and children. (Social Security Administration) Widows would experience enormous cuts under the leading privatization proposal.

· The typical recipient of a Social Security widow's benefit in Alaska receives $820 per month ($9,840 per year). According to the Congressional Budget Office, under Plan 2 of the President's Commission to Strengthen Social Security, today's kindergarteners are projected to receive 45% less than they are promised under current law, even when the proceeds from their private accounts are included in the total. If such a cut were to take effect currently, the typical widow in Alaska would receive only $451 per month ($5,412 per year), an amount equal to only 63% of the poverty
line. (Social Security Administration and Congressional Budget Office) The Alaska economy will lose a significant amount if Social Security benefits are cut.

· In 2002, $0.5 billion flowed into the Alaska economy through Social Security benefits. If the cuts expected under Plan 2 for today's kindergarteners were to take effect currently, Alaska would lose $0.2 billion per year, even including the proceeds from private accounts. This amount is equivalent to 4% of state government expenditures in fiscal year 2002 (state government expenditures include money generated from state funds, federal funds, and the sale of state bonds). (Social Security Administration, Congressional Budget Office, National Association of State
Budget Officers) Ultimately, Social Security affects nearly everyone in Alaska. We need to get the resolution of this debate correct.

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