Well, according to the Social Security Administration, last year there were over 1 million Kentuckians receiving Social Security.

About 70% of those are retirees.

The Social Security Act turned 90 years old this month.

AARP hosted a celebration in Lexington this week to reflect on the legacy of the program and look ahead to the challenges it faces.

We've passed some great legislation in the history of America, but I believe the Social Security Act of 1935 is the greatest because prior to it, if you got to be 60 or 55 and you were infirmed or could no longer work, you had no choice but to work or otherwise you would face poverty, you faced starvation, you faced death, and Social Security has eliminated that.

Today, 14% of Americans that are 65 plus rely upon Social Security for most of their income, while 40% rely upon it for more than half of their income.

So Social Security is very, very important for folks that are 60 plus.

Did you know that if Congress does not do something by the end of 2033, not far away, 2033 to ensure the Social Security trust and solvency, it will result in at least a 19% reduction in benefits for present and future recipients.

Imagine the impact if something isn't corrected.

Social security was never intended to be the sole source of income for retirement.

But the fact is, and for many American citizens, it is the only source of retirement income.

Imagine the impact on those people.

When I was 53, I became disabled.

So I depend on Social Security and Medicare.

I'm walking because of the operations and the medical care on my behalf.

But I depend on Social Security.

My my father was born in 1895.

He fought in the First World War.

I was eight years old when he died.

My mother was illiterate and we survived on Social Security survivor benefits.

Without that assistance, I don't know what my mother would have done.

I want my children, my grandchildren, and my great grandchildren to receive what they earned.

But right here, you.

We earned it.

You have been paying into Social Security trust Fund with your first paycheck, and you continue to pay into that trust fund, hoping and relying on it, being there when you retire and when you need it.

AARP is contacting our legislators in D.C. in order to try to get something done.

They're also working with Social Security Administration in order to try to move that process along.

But it's incumbent upon us, not only AARP, but our citizens across Kentucky and across the nation in order to reach out to our representatives, our congresspeople, our senators, and ask them to take the step and in a bipartisan manner, do things that are necessary in order to preserve Social Security.

So it's not only there for for us, but it's here for our children and our grandchildren.