Among those who are not yet retired, one in four people (25%) expect to primarily rely on it, including 23% of those in the workforce, 59% of those who are not employed and not looking for work, and 37% of homemakers. Image: Lane V. Erickson/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffMore than half of retirees view Social Security as their primary source of income, as do a quarter of those still working, while across both groups, “the threat of potential cuts to Social Security are causing fear and concern,” a survey has found.
The survey by the TransAmerica Center for Retirement Studies added that among the 53 percent of retirees who view Social Security as their primary source of income, reliance “is especially prevalent” among those with household incomes of less than $50,000, at 85 percent.
“Among those who are not yet retired, one in four people (25%) expect to primarily rely on it, including 23% of those in the workforce, 59% of those who are not employed and not looking for work, and 37% of homemakers,” it said.
The survey was done in the year of Social Security’s 90th anniversary and about eight years from the projected exhaustion of its primary trust fund—at which point the program will be able to pay only about 80 percent of currently promised benefits unless action is taken. That has left many people “anxious about the program’s future in terms of its ability to make benefit payments.”
“Almost nine in 10 Americans (87%) have one or more greatest retirement fears, ranging from health to financial-related. The top two greatest fears are declining health that requires long-term care (39%) followed by Social Security being reduced or ceasing to exist in the future (37%), among others,” it said.
“Retirees are more fearful of potential cuts to Social Security than people who are not retired (41%, 37%, respectively). Individuals at the lower end of the income spectrum are more fearful than those with higher incomes” and women, who on average have lower savings than men, also are more fearful than men, it said.
Regarding what should be done, only five percent said nothing, while another 25 percent said they “don’t know.” Among the rest, given the choice of more than one option, 38 percent favored raising the maximum earnings subject to Social Security payroll taxes; 35 percent favored raising that tax; 28 percent favored preserving benefit amounts for those in the greatest need even at the cost of reducing benefits for others; and 22 percent favored raising the age at which full benefits can be drawn.
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