Social Security is the most important source of retirement income for a vast majority of Americans. Nearly half of Americans do not have access to or have no acquired retirement savings otherwise, making Social Security even more essential to retirement security.

Even as Social Security remains a successful program currently, millions of seniors and some people with disabilities continue to struggle (PDF). And we must address and prevent the looming retirement crisis. To address this fully, we need to expand Social Security benefits, as President Biden campaigned to do and congressional Democrats have attempted multiple times.

Most recently, instead of expanding and ensuring equal access, we’ve had to protect the program from continued threats to gut it. But now, we must focus on improving these benefits for everyone.

Social Security, as the heart of the American retirement system, provides guaranteed income to workers in retirement and effectively boosts American retirement security. President Biden and Congress can expand Social Security benefits for millions of Americans, extend the lifespan of the program, and pay for it all by making the wealthy pay their fair share.