Survey: Many Americans expect to rely on Social Security benefits when they retire — but are worried they won’t get them
As Social Security marks its 90th birthday, many Americans appear to be losing confidence in the landmark U.S. institution.
More than half (52 percent) of Americans who haven’t retired yet say they expect to rely on Social Security benefits to pay their necessary expenses once they exit the workforce, according to Bankrate’s new Social Security Survey. Yet, more than 3 in 4 of them (76 percent) are concerned that they won’t get the full benefits that they’ve been promised.
Americans are right to be worried. Recent federal reports suggest that the Social Security and Medicare trust funds are nearing insolvency. Beneficiaries could face a 23 percent cut to their payments in about eight years, according to the program’s annual Trustees Report. Other analyses suggest the shortfall could arrive even sooner and be even bigger. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget projects that benefits could be reduced by 24 percent as early as late 2032 — amounting to a roughly $18,100 annual loss for a dual-income couple retiring at the start of 2033.
With each year that elected officials fail to address Social Security’s funding shortfall, the options for solutions narrow, increasing the likelihood of more difficult choices ahead. Fortunately, we do possess control over our own personal financial decisions and planning.— Mark Hamrick, senior economic analyst at Bankrate
How are Americans feeling about their retirement savings and the future of Social Security? This page combines results from Bankrate’s Social Security and Retirement Savings surveys to explore how Americans are feeling about their financial futures and the obstacles they face in preparing for them.
Bankrate’s latest insights on Americans’ path to retirement
More than half (52%) of Americans who haven’t retired yet expect to rely on Social Security benefits to pay necessary expenses once they retire, including 28% who expect to be very reliant.
The majority of retired Americans (78%) are reliant on Social Security to pay necessary expenses, while just about 1 in 5 (19%) say they are not reliant.
When asked about the projected depletion of the main Social Security trust fund by 2033, the majority of retired adults (80%) say they are concerned about receiving their promised benefits, up from 71% in 2024.
The majority of older Americans expect to rely on Social Security in retirement
Social Security benefits are as crucial as ever to Americans’ retirement savings. Nearly three in 10 (28 percent) of non-retired adults expect to be “very” reliant on Social Security benefits once they retire, identical to last year’s levels (28 percent).
The closer one is to retirement age, the more likely they are to expect to rely on Social Security as a crucial source of income.
| Year | Generation Z (ages 18-28) | Millennials (ages 29-44) | Generation X (ages 45-60) | Baby boomers (ages 61-79) |
| 2025 | 37% | 45% | 61% | 72% |
| 2024 | 46% | 48% | 56% | 69% |
Non-retired Americans in lower-income brackets are more likely than their upper-income counterparts to say they expect to rely on Social Security benefits. They’re also slightly more likely to think they’ll be reliant on Social Security than last year.
- Less than $50,000 a year: 57% (up from 54% in 2024);
- Between $50,000 and $79,999: 55% (matching last year’s 55% in 2024);
- Between $80,000 and $99,999: 52% (down from 61% in 2024); and
- $100,000 or more: 47% (down from 56% in 2024).
On the other hand, 1 in 3 non-retired adults (33 percent) say they do not expect to rely on Social Security to pay their necessary expenses once they retire. That includes 17 percent who say they don’t expect to rely on it at all, up from 14 percent in 2024. Another 15 percent don’t know if they’ll be reliant.
Those expecting not to be reliant on Social Security in retirement include 39 percent of millennials, 36 percent of Gen Zers, 29 percent of Gen Xers and 23 percent of baby boomers.
Retired Americans already depend on Social Security
Americans are much more likely to say they rely on Social Security benefits once they’ve retired. The share of retired adults who rely on Social Security rises to nearly 4 in 5 (78 percent), up only slightly from last year’s levels (77 percent). More than half (56 percent) say they are “very” reliant.
The majority of retired baby boomers (83 percent) and Americans making under $50,000 a year (85 percent) are relying on Social Security benefits to pay for their necessary expenses. Retired women (at 82 percent) are also more likely than retired men (74 percent) to rely on Social Security benefits.
Just 19 percent of currently retired Americans say they are not reliant on Social Security, which includes 9 percent who say they are “not very” reliant and 10 percent who say they are “not at all” reliant.
Americans are growing more concerned about not receiving their Social Security benefits
Recent federal data show that the largest trust fund funding Social Security — Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) — is on track to be depleted by 2033, when today’s 59-year-olds reach full retirement age and today’s youngest retirees turn 70.
Policymakers are running out of time to act. The longer the delay, the fewer options they’ll have to gradually phase in reforms, resulting in abrupt changes to taxes or benefits, according to the Trustees. Lawmakers’ options to restore solvency include increasing payroll taxes or cutting benefits, the report said.
When asked about the projected depletion of the main Social Security trust fund by 2033, Americans shared roughly the same level of concern whether they were retired or not. More than three-quarters of both non-retired (76 percent) and retired (80 percent) adults say they are concerned that promised benefits will not be paid to them in retirement if the fund runs out, Bankrate’s poll found. That’s up from 73 percent and 71 percent, respectively, in 2024.
About half of both non-retired (50 percent) and retired adults (51 percent) say they are “very” concerned. Conversely, 14 percent of non-retired adults and 18 percent of retired adults say they are not concerned.
Baby boomers and Gen Xers are the most likely to be concerned that their promised benefits won’t be paid to them in retirement. Every generation also grew more concerned over the past year.
- Gen Zers: 62 percent (up from 60 percent);
- Millennials: 75 percent (up from 69 percent);
- Gen Xers: 83 percent (up from 81 percent); and
- Baby boomers: 84 percent (up from 76 percent).
“Prioritizing and actively managing retirement savings is essential,” Hamrick says. “This is one way of ensuring that financial security doesn’t rely solely on uncertain policy outcomes. Proactive steps today can reduce future financial stress, helping secure a comfortable retirement despite a range of uncertainties.”
A retirement calculator can help you find how much you can save
Most American workers feel behind on retirement savings
Retiring comfortably is a common goal for many working Americans, but a majority say they’re behind on their retirement savings, according to Bankrate’s 2025 Retirement Savings Survey. About 3 in 5 American workers (58 percent) say their retirement savings are behind where they should be.
Of those, 37 percent say they’re significantly behind where they should be, while 21 percent say they’re slightly behind. The overall figures are similar to those in the last two surveys, when 57 percent (in 2024) and 56 percent (in the 2023 survey) said their retirement savings were lagging.
Older workers are more likely to say they’re behind where they need to be on retirement savings.
- Gen Z: 46%;
- Millennials: 57%;
- Gen X: 69%; and
- Baby boomers: 59%.
More than 1 in 5 workers (22 percent) say they are on track with their retirement savings, while about 1 in 8 workers (13 percent) said they’re ahead of where they should be. Another 7 percent say they don’t know.
Those with lower household incomes were more likely to report feeling behind on their retirement savings.
- Under $50,000 per year: 67 percent
- $50,000–$79,999 per year: 59 percent
- $80,000–$99,999 per year: 57 percent
- $100,000 per year or more: 49 percent
“Looking across the generations and a variety of income levels, a key challenge for Americans and their retirement savings is to align their contributions with their realistic long-term needs,” Hamrick says. “Key to this process is doing some of the homework, particularly for more senior workers, to identify how much they expect to need when they retire.”
Most Americans are still adding to their retirement accounts, though many are not
While many workers say they’re behind on savings, the majority of them are adding the same or more to their retirement savings as they were this time last year. Nearly 1 in 4 workers (24 percent) are contributing more to their retirement accounts this year, while an additional 36 percent are contributing the same amount, compared to a year ago.
In contrast, 17 percent of workers are contributing less than a year ago. Another 23 percent were not contributing last year or this year.
“The greatest opportunity to succeed with retirement savings is to begin as early as possible, such as for members of Gen Z and millennials,” Hamrick says. “By harnessing the power of compounding returns on investments, the combination of being on track, or even getting ahead of the game, will deliver dividends, figuratively and literally.”
About one-third of American workers think they’ll need more than $1 million for retirement
The range of what Americans think they’ll need for a comfortable retirement varies dramatically. While 14 percent of workers said $250,000 or less, five percent said $10 million or more.
Respondents were asked to select the range of wealth they think they’ll need to retire comfortably, and a majority said more than $500,000, while about one-third said $1 million or more.
- 14 percent said $250,000 or less
- 58 percent said $250,000 or more
- 51 percent said $500,000 or more
- 34 percent said $1 million or more
- 18 percent said $2 million or more
- 7 percent said $5 million or more
- 5 percent said $10 million or more
- 28 percent said they didn’t know
Of all generations, millennial workers most often reported that they expect to need $1 million or more to retire comfortably:
- Gen Z workers: 33 percent
- Millennial workers: 38 percent
- Gen X workers: 35 percent
- Baby boomer workers: 24 percent
Gen Z reported they don’t know how much they need to retire comfortably most often (33 percent), followed by baby boomers at 30 percent. Twenty-seven percent of Gen X reported not knowing, while 25 percent of millennials said the same.
“Our collective failure to focus on retirement savings points to a growing risk that Social Security and Medicare will be critically necessary parts of the solution for many Americans in retirement,” Hamrick says. “Yet looming funding shortfalls for these popular programs are potentially disastrous unless resolved by elected officials. The time-bomb is ticking.”
Just half of American workers think they can reach their retirement savings goal
Fifty percent of American workers with a retirement goal in mind think they’ll be able to achieve it, according to this year’s survey. That number is broadly in line with the results of 2024 (49 percent) and 2023 (52 percent). Meanwhile, 47 percent said it’s not likely they’ll reach their retirement savings goal, while 3 percent said they didn’t know.
By generation, Gen Z workers with a retirement goal most often (55 percent) said they were likely to reach their goal. This group was followed by boomers (53 percent), millennials (52 percent) and Gen X, with a much lower 42 percent.
Fifty-five percent of Gen X workers said they were unlikely to reach their goal. They were followed by millennials and boomers (both at 45 percent) and Gen Z at 40 percent.
3 tips to help you maximize your retirement savings
With Social Security under threat, it’s more important than ever that Americans take charge of their retirement savings. Ideally, Social Security payments should supplement Americans’ retirement savings, such as money in a pension, 401(k), Roth IRA or other retirement account, Hamrick says.
“Americans must take it upon themselves to take proactive steps to secure their eventual retirements,” Hamrick says. “The road to success includes consistently contributing maximum allowable amounts to employer-sponsored 401(k) plans and Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs).”
Wondering how to get your savings back on track? Here are some key ways that you can save for retirement.
1. Take full advantage of tax-advantaged accounts
Workers have several tax-advantaged ways to save, which can help them amass a nest egg for retirement faster. Both employer-sponsored 401(k) plans and IRAs can help workers save without the immediate drag of taxes slowing down their ability to compound wealth. These accounts let you invest in potentially high-return assets such as stocks and stock funds, helping you turbocharge your retirement funds, too. Both types of plans also offer Roth versions — a Roth 401(k) and a Roth IRA — that are set up so you’ll never pay taxes on withdrawals again.
These accounts let you stash thousands each year under their tax protection, but they do have limits. You’ll be able to put up to $23,500 into a 401(k) plan annually, though workers age 50 and older can save an additional $7,500 catch-up contribution. Plus, many companies provide an employer match, which is free money that goes right into the account. The IRA lets workers with earned income save $7,000 a year, though those age 50 and older can add an extra $1,000.
2. Automate as much as possible
When it comes to saving, many people find it hard to do. So it’s important to make it as easy as possible — and you can do that by automating the process. For example, with a 401(k) plan, your money is pulled straight from your paycheck before it even gets into your account. Then it’s automatically invested into whatever you’ve selected ahead of time.
You can take a similar step with an IRA, though you’ll have to set up this plan yourself. You can have your bank automatically move money from your account to your IRA on payday. In either case, this automatic process means you don’t have to actively decide to save every time a paycheck comes in — so you’re more likely to stick to the good behavior of saving for retirement.
3. Work with a financial advisor
A good financial advisor has seen it all and knows the best route to take to help you reach a comfortable retirement. So, an advisor can help clients avoid the pitfalls and make the smartest decisions to get the retirement you want, even if you don’t think you have enough. They can help you select good investments for a 401(k) or IRA and can assist you in finding the right time to take Social Security and how to maximize your benefit.
And importantly, the best advisors not only develop a financial plan but also help you stick to it during tough times.
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