PRINCETON, N.J.–A new poll offers evidence that credit unions might want to renew efforts with members when it comes to retirement planning.
The poll, conducted by Gallup, found that 51% of nonretired Americans say they doubt the Social Security system will be able to pay them a benefit when they stop working. The current level of doubt is similar to what Gallup first measured in 1989, when 47% said they would not be able to receive a benefit.
The latest update on Americans' views of Social Security comes from an aggregate of interviews conducted in two recent Gallup surveys, conducted July 8-12, 2015, and Aug. 5-9, 2015.
Americans younger than 50 – most of whom either would be retired or still working in 2034 – are the most skeptical that Social Security will be around long enough to pay a benefit, Gallup said. Skepticism is much lower among nonretired workers aged 50 and older.
“Perhaps because they anticipate that they would be grandfathered out of any change in the Social Security system designed to help it remain solvent,” Gallup said.
Among the small group of Americans aged 65 and older who are still working, only 6% doubt they will get Social Security benefits when they retire.
While most Americans aged 65 and older who are still working believe they will get their Social Security benefits, 43% of current retirees predict that eventually there will be cuts in their benefits. This figure is down from 56% in 2010, but up from 32% in 2005.
In the latest survey, 66% of Americans say Social Security is in a state of crisis (21%) or has major problems (45%). The percentages of Americans holding each of these views has varied over the years, Gallup noted, reaching a high of 77% in 2010 and lows in 2002 (67%) and this year (66%).
“But at least two-thirds of Americans have viewed the system as having major problems or as in a state of crisis since 1998. These negative views likely will continue until elected officials in Washington take action to tackle the system's long-term problems or the projections about the system's financial strength improve as a result of shifts in the economy,” Gallup said.
While Americans aged 18 to 29 and those aged 30 to 49 are equally doubtful they will receive Social Security benefits when they retire, these two groups differ in their perceptions of the state of the system, reported Gallup. The younger age group, along with those aged 65 and older, is less likely to say the system is in crisis, while those aged 30 to 49, along with those 50 to 64, are more likely to say it is in crisis. A third of those aged 30 to 49 say the Social Security system is in a state of crisis, twice the percentage among those younger than 30 who say the same.
There have been many proposals to change the Social Security system to ensure its long-term solvency. Two primary approaches are to raise taxes or to curb the amount of benefits for future Social Security recipients, explained Gallup. “Given a choice between these two alternatives, Americans tilt 51% to 37% toward saying that taxes should be raised rather than curbing benefits.
Younger Americans are more evenly divided in their views on these approaches. Americans aged 50 and older – closer to the point where they will receive benefits – slightly prefer raising taxes.