Retirement Savings: New Poll Shows 78% of Americans Don’t Want Retirement Age Raised
Written by
David Nadelle
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Cory Dudak
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As concerns build over the future depletion of Social Security reserves and U.S. senators actively look to strengthen the retirement, disability and survivor insurance program, it’s clear a large portion of Americans are firmly opposed to raising the full retirement age for benefits from 67 to 70 years.
According to a recent Quinnipiac University poll, 78% of Americans don’t want the retirement age increased, leaving 17% in support of adopting a new age limit when workers are eligible for 100% of the benefits they’ve earned.
When asked if they would support raising the full retirement age if it meant their benefits would last longer, 62% of respondents said they still would disagree with the retirement age raise, while 30% would favor an age hike.
Additionally, while food costs topped respondents’ lists for most pressing financial concerns, retirement savings ranked in the top three for 35- to 49-year-olds (at No. 2 with 17%), 50- to 64-year-olds (at No. 1 with 25%) and those over 65 years old (also at No. 1 with 26%).
“When it comes to the golden years, Americans young, old and in-between share the same worry,” said Quinnipiac professor of finance and business Osman Kilic. “There’s a cloud of doubt hanging over the quality of life they’ll have when they retire, especially among those between 35 and 64 years of age.”
The survey, conducted in collaboration with the Quinnipiac University School of Business and its Global Asset Management Education (GAME) Forum XII event, polled 1,795 U.S. adults between March 9 and March 13, 2023. As SmartAsset noted, 29% of respondents identified themselves as Democrats and 27% as Republicans (meanwhile 29% said they were Independents, while the remaining 15% said they belong to another political party or simply don’t know).
See: Social Security Payments Could Stop in July If Debt Ceiling Not Settled, Say ExpertsExperts: Social Security, SNAP Benefits Likely Among First Casualties If Debt Ceiling Leads to Default
Without legislative reform, the combined assets of the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance and Disability Insurance (OASI and DI) Trust Funds are expected to become depleted starting in 2034. It is anticipated that the continuing total fund income will be sufficient to pay 80% of scheduled benefits at that time, according to the Social Security Board of Trustees.
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