This Table Shows What Congress's Inaction Has Done to Social Security

Each month, more than 62 million people receive a benefit check from the Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance Trust -- and nearly 43 million of these folks are retired workers. According to the Social Security Administration (SSA), more than three out of five of these retirees are reliant on their monthly check to account for at least half of their income, with around a third leaning on the program for essentially all of their income.

Suffice it to say that without Social Security, the elderly poverty rate would be a lot higher than it is today.