Half of Americans Say 25% Social Security Cut Would Break Them as 22% Shortfall Looms by 2032
Updated
Updated · Newsweek · Aug 25
Half of Americans Say 25% Social Security Cut Would Break Them as 22% Shortfall Looms by 2032
2 articles · Updated · Newsweek · Aug 25
Summary
50% of Americans who receive or expect Social Security said they could not survive financially if a quarter of a monthly payment vanished, according to a Harris Poll of 1,823 adults for Nationwide.
The warning closely matches the program’s projected strain: the 2026 trustees report says the retirement trust fund can pay full benefits only until late 2032, after which incoming revenue would cover 78% of scheduled payments.
Average monthly benefits reported in the survey were $1,537 for current recipients and $1,752 for future claimants, while a typical newly retiring dual-income couple could lose about $16,900 a year at the start of 2033.
72% said they worry Social Security will run short during their lifetime, and 51% said they had claimed or planned to claim as early as possible—despite early filing usually locking in lower monthly benefits.
Congress has begun weighing fixes, including bipartisan commission-style bills in the Senate and House, while other lawmakers such as Bernie Sanders favor higher payroll taxes on earnings above $250,000.