Study: How should lawmakers fix the Social Security gap?

The National Academy of Social Insurance, AARP, the National Institute on Retirement Security, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce recently released new survey findings on Americans’ views on Social Security. Unlike most public opinion research on Social Security, the survey features a trade-off analysis that allows it to capture the full picture of Americans’ views on how lawmakers should address the program’s long-term financing gap.

Key findings include:

• Americans are united in support of Social Security. Across party lines, generations, income, and education, Americans value Social Security and see it as the cornerstone of retirement security. Only four percent of Americans said it will not be important to their income in retirement.
• Americans strongly prefer bringing more revenue into the system, rather than closing Social Security’s financing gap through benefit reductions. Eighty-five percent said that we should ensure benefits are not reduced, even if it means raising taxes on some or all Americans.
  The most strongly preferred of all options tested is eliminating the cap on payroll tax contributions for those earning more than $400,000 per year, the report said. Additionally, Americans across all groups, including most Republicans, said they are willing to pay more themselves by gradually increasing the payroll tax rate to strengthen the program’s finances.
• Americans are broadly opposed to benefit reductions. Given a broad set of options to address Social Security’s financing gap, respondents reject benefit reductions, such as further increases to the retirement age or switching to a slower cost-of-living adjustment.
• Americans want to strengthen Social Security benefits. Americans support several targeted improvements, including adding a caregiver credit for workers who take time out of the workforce to care for young children, and a “bridge benefit,” to protect from the early claiming reduction of those in physically demanding jobs who may be unable to continue working up to full retirement age.
• Americans need and value Social Security’s disability benefits. Ninety percent of Americans said that they will need Social Security’s disability benefits if they become disabled and are unable to support themselves through work, and only four percent support cutting disability benefits. The survey also found strong bipartisan support for updating outdated rules in Supplemental Security Income, including its $2,000 asset limit.

Social Security a 'unifying force'

“At a time when our country is deeply divided, Social Security remains a powerful unifying force,” said Rebecca Vallas, chief executive officer of the National Academy of Social Insurance. “This survey shows there is strong bipartisan agreement on how the American people want to secure the program’s future, and we urge policymakers to listen.”

“It is rare in today’s political climate to see people unite around anything,” said AARP chief public policy officer Deb Whitman, “but virtually all Americans want their Social Security benefits to be preserved and are willing to do what it takes to ensure the program continues to provide meaningful support for future generations.”

“Social Security is the foundation of retirement security in the United States. This report clearly indicates both the important role that Social Security plays as a source of retirement income for older Americans as well as the priority the American people place on resolving the financing gap so that benefits are not cut indiscriminately,” said Tyler Bond, research director at the National Institute on Retirement Security. “This research continues a long history of finding strong support for Social Security among the public.”

Americans 'value Social Security'

“These survey results show that Americans value Social Security and their private sector retirement benefits because they were unwilling to cut those benefits to finance Social Security,” said Chantel Sheaks, vice president of retirement policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. “Americans think of these together, and policymakers should, as well.”

The National Academy of Social Insurance is a non-profit, nonpartisan organization whose mission is to advance solutions to challenges facing the nation by increasing public understanding of how social insurance contributes to economic security.

The National Institute on Retirement Security is a non-profit, non-partisan organization that contributes to informed policymaking by fostering a deep understanding of the value of retirement security to employees, employers, and the economy as a whole. NIRS membership includes financial services firms, employee benefit plans, trade associations, and other retirement service providers. The survey was conducted in partnership with Greenwald Research.

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