Image source: Getty Images.In terms of retirement income, no program is more vital to seniors' financial well-being than Social Security. For more than 75 years, Social Security income has been providing a financial floor for countless seniors, with the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimating that elderly poverty rates in America are just 8.5% because of Social Security income as opposed to 40.5% without it.Data from the Social Security Administration backs up this reliance on benefits.