Celebrating 90 Years of Social Security: A Look at Changing and Persisting Opinions Over Time

As Social Security marks its 90th anniversary, it remains a cornerstone of financial security for millions of Americans. For decades, we’ve been tracking public attitudes and opinions about Social Security — how people view its role in retirement, its importance to future generations, and the challenges Americans face in saving for the future. This year’s anniversary report builds on that long-standing research, offering a fresh look at how views have evolved — or stayed the same — since 2005.

Drawing on a new nationally representative survey of adults 18 and older, this year’s findings are organized around five key themes: the importance of Social Security, confidence in the future of Social Security, reliance on Social Security in retirement, knowledge about how Social Security works, and support for the principles behind it. Here are five key findings from this year’s research:

1. Social Security is deemed important by 96% of Americans in 2025, with little difference among age groups and political party affiliations.
2. Confidence in the future of Social Security has declined 7 percentage points since 2020 (from 43% to 36%). Consistent with previous years, confidence levels increase with age.  
3. Nearly two in three retired Americans say they rely substantially on Social Security, while another 21% say they rely on it somewhat. People who have not retired, especially those ages 18-49, likely underestimate how big a role Social Security will play in their retirement.
4. Even though a majority of Americans think they are informed about Social Security, most lack the knowledge necessary to make wise decisions about when to start receiving retirement payments.
5. Americans continue to support the principles underlying Social Security, including improving the common good, making payments to all who pay in regardless of income level, and seeing Social Security as a contract America needs to honor.

Methodology

AARP commissioned a national survey of 3,599 adults ages 18 and older to understand their attitudes and opinions on Social Security. The interview was conducted June 18–23, 2025, online and by telephone. The data are weighted by age, gender, census division, race/ethnicity and educational attainment, obtained from the most recent Current Population Survey, as well as AARP membership.

For more information, please contact Bryan Miller at bmmiller@aarp.org. For media inquiries, contact External Relations at media@aarp.org.