What Americans get wrong about Social Security: AARP survey

A majority of Americans — 74% — say they are somewhat to very informed about how Social Security works, according to a new survey from AARP. Yet the results show they could stand to know more about certain program features.

Almost all respondents, 96%, say Social Security is important, regardless of their age or political affiliation.

Even with Social Security’s popularity, confidence in the future of the program has dropped 7 percentage points in the past five years — to 36% in 2025 down from 43% in 2020, AARP found.

Social Security provides monthly benefit checks to more than 70 million Americans, including retirees, disabled individuals and families. The program, which was created with legislation that President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed into law on August 14, 1935, is now approaching its 90^th anniversary.

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More than three-quarters of AARP survey respondents — 78% — worry Social Security won’t provide enough to live on in retirement.

Meanwhile, the number of people collecting Social Security is expected to grow to 82 million by 2035, AARP CEO Myechia Minter-Jordan said during a press call on Tuesday.

“We can’t afford for politicians to play games with the future of Social Security, and we’ll fight as hard and as long as we need to ensure that Social Security remains the economic bedrock of retirement for generations to come,” Minter-Jordan said.

Here are two key areas of the program that Americans tend to misunderstand:

Every year, new estimates are released regarding the longevity of the Social Security trust funds that the program relies on to help pay benefits.

Earlier this year, Social Security’s trustees projected the program’s combined trust funds will last until 2034. At that time, 81% of scheduled benefits would still be payable, as payroll tax contributions into the program continue.

Yet the AARP survey found 47% of respondents wrongly believe that retirement benefits would be cut by at least half when the trust funds are depleted, rather than by the estimated 19% cut the trustees currently project.

Separately, just 34% of respondents to the survey correctly said Social Security benefits will be paid at a reduced level once the trust funds are exhausted.

When it comes to claiming Social Security, eligible individuals may choose to start their monthly retirement checks as early as age 62 or delay for increased benefits until up to age 70.

But there is a drastic difference in the dollar amount of payments beneficiaries may receive depending on their start date.

At full retirement age — typically ages 66 to 67 depending on date of birth — retirees may receive 100% of the benefits they’ve earned. Retirees take a permanent reduction in benefits for claiming earlier than that.

For a beneficiary eligible for a $1,000 benefit at age 67, claiming at 62 would reduce monthly benefits by 30%, or down to $700 per month, according to the Social Security Administration.

Prospective beneficiaries who wait even longer stand to receive an 8% benefit boost for every year they delay up to age 70.

Yet the AARP survey found that many individuals are unaware of how claiming ages could affect their benefits. The results showed 41% didn’t know the earliest claiming age, while 66% did not know the age to maximize benefits.

While Social Security is popular among Americans, confidence in the program is “tempered,” according to AARP’s research.

Younger Americans tend to have lower confidence in Social Security, with Americans in their 30s being the most pessimistic, the survey found.

“Some of this could be that younger people just haven’t experienced Social Security yet and don’t understand how the program works,” said Bill Sweeney, senior vice president of government affairs at AARP.  “Actually receiving Social Security changes how people view the program.”