New AARP Survey Shows Confidence in the Future of Social Security Among Younger Adults at 15-Year-Low

By 2035, more than 82 million people are projected to rely on Social Security roughly 13 million more than today

A new AARP report released today, ahead of Social Security’s 90th anniversary, reveals Americans’ confidence in the future of Social Security has declined by 7 percentage points in the last five years, from 43% in 2020 to 36% in 2025. This is the lowest level since 2010, when confidence in Social Security was at 35%. Younger adults are generally less confident: just 25% of people ages 18-49 are confident in the program’s future, compared to 48% of those 50 and older.

The report also shows that more than two-thirds of Americans (67%) view Social Security as more important to retirees today than five years ago. Overall, 96% of Americans consider Social Security important, with broad agreement across party lines: 98% of Democrats, 95% of Republicans and 93% of Independents all say the same.

“For 90 years, Social Security has been a stable and reliable foundation of retirement security for millions of Americans and the survey findings reinforce Social Security’s reputation for being one of the most successful and popular initiatives in American history,” said AARP Connecticut State Director Nora Duncan. “In those nine decades, Social Security has never missed a payment and Connecticut residents should have confidence that it never will.”

In Connecticut, nearly 722,000 people count on the Social Security they’ve earned to be there when they need it. Thirty-five percent of Connecticut residents rely on Social Security for at least 50% of their income, and for 16%, it is 90% of their income. AARP will never stop fighting to protect the Social Security payments that Connecticut residents have earned from a lifetime of hard work.

AARP Connecticut will host two ice cream social events as part of a call to action and recognition of Social Security’s 90th anniversary. The public is invited to the Social Security 90th Anniversary Celebration Ice Cream Social on August 12 in Fairfield or August 14 in Hartford for free ice cream, and Social Security games and prizes. Both events will be from noon to 2 p.m. and registration is required to attend by calling 877-926-8300 or visiting https://events.aarp.org/SSFairfield or https://events.aarp.org/SSHartford.

Additional findings from the survey show:

• Nearly two in three (65%) retired Americans say they rely substantially on Social Security, while another 21 percent say they rely on it somewhat. In 2020, 63% of retired Americans said they relied substantially on Social Security, jumping from 58% in both 2015 and 2010.
• More than three-quarters of Americans (78%) are worried that Social Security will not provide enough to live on during retirement. In 2020, 74% of people said the same.
• Sixty-two percent of people think the average Social Security payment of $2,000/month is too low. In 2020, 65% of people thought the average monthly payment was too low, compared to 61% in 2015 and 54% in 2010.
• Consistent with previous surveys, 89% of people believe Social Security makes it possible for older Americans to remain independent.

The Social Security Trustees Report, released in June, showed that if no action is taken by Congress prior to 2034, Social Security will only be able to pay out 81% of promised benefits from then on. According to the report, more than 82 million Americans are projected to be receiving Social Security retirement benefits in 2035.

The 90th anniversary report builds on AARP’s long-standing public opinion research on Social Security and examines how views have changed since 2005 on Social Security’s role in retirement, its importance to future generations, and the barriers Americans face in saving for retirement.

Methodology: AARP commissioned a national survey of 3,599 adults ages 18 and older to understand their attitudes and opinions on Social Security. The interviews were conducted June 18–23, 2025 online and by telephone. The data are weighted by age, gender, census division, race/ethnicity, educational attainment, and AARP membership.