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By Aliss Higham
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A broad majority of Americans still view Social Security favorably, but new polling suggests younger generations—especially Gen Z—are more open to change when they believe the system no longer works in their favor.
A survey of 2,000 adults conducted by the Cato Institute in collaboration with YouGov found that 83 percent of Americans hold a positive view of Social Security, underscoring the program’s enduring popularity 90 years after its creation. Established during the Great Depression and signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1935, Social Security was designed to provide a basic level of financial security, initially for retired workers and later for people with disabilities and surviving family members.
Today, more than 73 million Americans receive benefits every month, making the program a central pillar of the U.S. social safety net. Yet its long-term outlook is increasingly uncertain. The latest report from the Social Security Trustees projects that the program’s trust funds will be depleted by 2034. Without congressional action, benefits would then be paid only from current payroll tax revenue, leading to an automatic reduction of about 21 percent.
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Gen Z
That looming shortfall appears to shape how younger Americans think about reform. At first glance, Gen Z respondents—those under 30—are nearly as willing as older Americans to support higher taxes to preserve current benefits. The survey found that 61 percent of Gen Z and 64 percent of seniors favor increasing the payroll tax rate from 12.4 percent to 16.05 percent to close the funding gap.
Support among younger adults, however, drops sharply when the trade-offs become clearer. Gen Z respondents largely oppose higher payroll taxes "if current workers would eventually get back less than they paid in." Under those conditions, 60 percent of Gen Z said they would oppose a tax increase, while a slim majority of seniors—52 percent— would still support it.
Confidence in Social Security’s long-term future is especially low among younger Americans. Just 34 percent of adults under 30 believe the program will still be around by the time they retire. Expectations of reduced benefits are also far more common within Gen Z: nearly eight in 10 respondents (78 percent) anticipate receiving less than their full scheduled benefits. By comparison, 56 percent of current retirees say they expect their benefits to be cut.
Across the board, seven in 10 Americans expect future benefit cuts, and nearly one-third believe Social Security will not exist by the time they retire, with another 36 percent unsure. A majority, 58 percent, say younger workers are getting a worse deal than today’s retirees.
Nearly two-thirds believe Congress has failed to keep its promises in managing the program, and that skepticism crosses party lines. Majorities of both Democrats and Republicans agree that younger workers are disadvantaged and that lawmakers have mismanaged Social Security’s future.
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Fixing Social Security
Lawmakers have been considering ways to fix the looming shortfall, with several suggestions being made over the course of this year.
Proposed by Democratic Senators Sheldon Whitehouse and Brendan Boyle, the Fair Share Act seeks to strengthen the finances of Social Security and Medicare by increasing contributions from the country’s top earners. The legislation would mandate that individuals making more than $400,000 annually pay Social Security taxes on all income above that level, including wages, self-employment earnings, and investment returns. At present, most workers pay Social Security taxes on their full earnings, but high-income earners stop contributing once their wages exceed the $160,200 cap.
A separate proposal with bipartisan backing has been put forward by Republican Senator Bill Cassidy and Democratic Senator Tim Kaine. Their plan would establish a new investment pool that operates independently from Social Security’s existing trust funds. While current trust fund assets are invested solely in special U.S. government bonds, the proposed fund would be allowed to invest more broadly, including in stocks and other assets, with the goal of generating higher long-term returns.
The Cassidy–Kaine proposal calls for an initial investment of $1.5 trillion, giving the fund 75 years to grow. In the early years, the Treasury would supply the necessary funds, which would later be reimbursed once the investment fund matures and begins contributing to Social Security alongside payroll tax revenue.
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