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In fact, Social Security is the only source of income nationwide for 29 percent of unmarried elderly women.

Social Security makes up a much larger share of total retirement income for unmarried women and minorities than it does for married couples, unmarried men and whites.

Right now, too many women who reach retirement age find themselves widowed or single, relying on their Social Security check for over half of their income.

For these reasons, women tend to rely more heavily on Social Security in their retirement than do men.

If we didn't have Social Security, our seniors would live mostly in poverty. You'd have another 18 million people in poverty.

Research by James Poterba at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology finds that the wealth of the U.S.'s elderly is highly skewed. About half of retirees have little or no financial wealth when they retire and depend almost entirely on Social Security for their income.

Before Social Security existed, about half of America's senior citizens lived in poverty.

On the other end of the spectrum, these women who do live long enough to collect Social Security face the challenge of being disproportionately dependent on the Social Security system for retirement income.

Women would be disproportionately affected by the privatization of social security. It is one of the most important safety nets for American women in old age, or in times of disability, to insure financial income for their families.

In 1935, the year Social Security was created, the poverty rate for seniors was over 70%.