“New Poll: Most Americans Expect Social Security Benefit Cuts; a Third Believe the Program Won’t Exist When They Retire,” by Emily Ekins and Hunter Johnson, Cato Institute
“A new survey of 2,000 Americans from the Cato Institute in collaboration with YouGov finds that 83% of Americans have a favorable view of Social Security. This support spans party lines: 90% of Democrats, 82% of Republicans, and 81% of independents hold positive views. Most workers (82%) also expect Social Security to fund at least part of their income during retirement. Yet …
Key Points
- 83% have a favorable view of Social Security.
- 30% believe Social Security will not exist when they retire.
- 70% expect Social Security benefits to be cut in the future.
- 58% say younger workers are getting a worse deal than today’s retirees receive.
- 62% say Congress has “mostly broken its promises” in managing Social Security.
- 49% don’t know their payroll taxes fund current retirees’ benefits.
- 77% oppose cutting benefits for current and future retirees.
- 77% oppose raising their own payroll taxes by $1,300 per year.
- 71% support creating a nonpartisan commission to fix Social Security.
- 51% say they aren’t currently saving for retirement.”
LTC Comment, Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform:
Schizophrenia over Social Security is on a par with the miscomprehension of long-term care risk and cost. Both subjects pose existential challenges for America’s social safety net. To make sense of what ails LTC, read the Paragon Health Institute’s “Long-Term Care: The Problem” and “Long-Term Care: The Solution” and watch this “virtual LTC event” featuring age wave visionary Ken Dychtwald and leading LTC researchers. To find ample private funds for LTC, check out “Medicaid’s $100+ Billion Leak.” For what not to do, see “Medi-Cal-amity: California’s Reckless Expansion of Medicaid Long-Term Care to the Affluent.” Much more on long-term care here.