Americans See Social Security as Essential and Want It Protected for Future Generations

A new AARP survey conducted around Social Security's 91^st anniversary finds that adults 18 and older overwhelmingly view Social Security as important, even if many are unsure exactly what it provides. Nearly all adults (95%) say Social Security is very or somewhat important for people in the United States today, and 91% say Congress should act to protect it for future generations.

The survey also tested whether people understand that Social Security provides concrete support, from retirement income to disability and survivor benefits. Understanding is strongest for retirement and disability, and weaker for survivor benefits and protections like guarding against outliving your savings, maintaining dignity with age, and staying independent from family. For example, 74% say Social Security helps people afford basic living expenses in retirement and 72% say it helps people who can no longer work because of a serious disability, but just 52% say it helps children financially after the loss of a parent.

Understanding of how Social Security helps people is consistently lower among adults ages 18 to 49 than among those 50 and older. For example, 61% of adults ages 18 to 49 say Social Security helps people who can no longer work because of a serious disability, compared with 84% of those 50 and older. The gap is similar for survivor benefits: 41% of adults ages 18 to 49 say Social Security helps children after the loss of a parent, compared with 64% of those 50 and older.

While understanding of how it helps people is uneven, adults strongly want Social Security to provide these types of help to future generations. More than 9 in 10 say it is important for the program to help future generations afford basic living expenses in retirement (93%), support people who can no longer work because of a serious disability (92%), and help people stay financially independent as they age (91%).

This support holds across age and political party affiliation. Adults ages 18 to 49 are somewhat less likely than those 50 and older to call these protections important, but their support still ranges from 81% to 90%. Support is also high across political groups, though Independents are a bit less enthusiastic: 92% to 97% of Democrats, 84% to 92% of Republicans, and 77% to 89% of Independents say Social Security should keep providing these types of help.

Many Americans, especially younger adults, have an incomplete understanding of what Social Security provides. But when the types of help it provides are described, we find that people strongly value Social Security and want Congress to make sure it’s protected for future generations.

Methodology

Interviews were conducted between July 23 and 27, 2026, among 1,084 U.S. adults age 18-plus in the AmeriSpeak 18+ Omnibus. Funded and operated by NORC at the University of Chicago, AmeriSpeak is a probability-based panel designed to be representative of the U.S. household population age 18 or older. Interviews were conducted online and via phone. All data are weighted by age, sex, education, race/ethnicity, region, and AARP membership.

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