Growing share of retirees lean heavily on Social Security, AARP says

Social Security is facing a growing number of challenges that threaten to undermine the retirement program's stability even as more retirees today say they urgently need the monthly payments compared with 20 years ago, according to a new AARP survey.

About two-thirds of retirees said they substantially rely on Social Security for retirement income, or plan to do so, according to the survey, which polled more than 1,200 retirees as well as more than 2,000 younger Americans. When the advocacy group for older Americans asked the same question in 2005, about half of retirees indicated a heavy reliance on their monthly checks.

The surge in retirees who largely rely on Social Security income to make ends meet comes as the program faces key challenges, from recent staffing cuts to a long-term financial crunch that could cause payments to be slashed starting in 2034.

The AARP survey, conducted to mark the 90th anniversary of President Franklin D. Roosevelt signing the Social Security Act on August 14, 1935, underscores both the ever-growing importance of the program as well as its vulnerabilities.

"More than three-quarters of people in the U.S. — 78% — are worried that Social Security won't provide enough to live on during retirement," AARP CEO Myechia Minter-Jordan said in a conference call to discuss the group's findings. "That's an increase from five years ago, when 74%" expressed concern."

Confidence in the future of Social Security is also declining, with only 36% of Americans today saying they believe it will continue to pay out reliably and at the same level, a dip of seven percentage points from 2020, the study found. At the same time, 96% of Americans said they believed Social Security is important, with little difference between age groups or political party affiliations, AARP said.

"We're concerned that faith in the system ... is waning," Minter-Jordan added. "We're concerned about their confidence that they will be able to receive benefits that they have paid into over time."

Americans in their 30s are the most pessimistic about the future of Social Security, although confidence in the program's outlook tends to rise as people approach retirement age and get closer to claiming their benefits, the study found.

"Younger people have always underestimated how important Social Security will be to them in the future," Bill Sweeney, senior vice president of government affairs at AARP, said on the call.

He added, "Receiving Social Security changes how people view the program. They realize how important that inflation-adjusted treatment income is."

The Social Security Administration didn't immediately respond to a request for comment about the survey's findings.

Meanwhile, Social Security Administration data shows that Americans are filing for benefits at a record rate in 2025. This comes as experts are pointing to rising concerns about the program's reliability and future solvency, given job cuts at the agency and other changes.

Wealth inequality is also a growing issue among retirees, with some white-collar workers heading into their golden years with hefty retirement savings thanks to corporate 401(k) programs with company matches. But about half of all private-sector workers lack access to corporate retirement accounts, creating hurdles for saving for retirement, a recent Pew Charitable Trusts study found.

Last year, a record 68 million retirees, disabled people and survivors of deceased workers relied on Social Security, a 42% jump from two decades ago, data shows. The number of Social Security beneficiaries is forecast to swell to 82 million by 2035, AARP said.

Despite the retirement program's importance, many Americans lack a grasp of the basics of Social Security, the new AARP study also found. For instance, only 24% of those surveyed correctly identified 70 years old as the age at which individuals can maximize their Social Security benefits.

And about one-third of respondents said the potential insolvency of the Social Security trust funds would lead to a complete cessation of benefits, which is false. If the trust funds aren't shored up and they run out of money, which is currently forecast to occur in 2034, monthly benefits would be reduced by about 20%.