Poll: Older Voters Say No to Social Security Cuts

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6-minute read

Deirdre Shesgreen,

AARP

Published November 04, 2026

A voter scans their ballot at a polling location inside St. Aedan's Church in Pearl River, New York.

Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images

An overwhelming majority of older voters said they want Social Security protected from cuts as they cast their ballots in Tuesday’s pivotal midterm election, according to a survey of confirmed voters conducted by the NORC Civic Health & Elections Project, a nonpartisan research organization at the University of Chicago.

Ninety percent of voters 50-plus said it was “very important” or “extremely important” for elected officials to prioritize preventing benefit cuts, the survey shows. Support for that position cut across geographic and party lines, with 87 percent of Republicans and independents and 94 percent of Democrats backing that stance

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The findings underscore how Social Security was a driving issue for older Americans in this election. The candidates elected on Tuesday — particularly the new crop of U.S. senators who begin their six-year terms in January — will have a big say in how to address a shortfall in the program’s trust fund for retirement and survivor benefits, which is projected to exhaust its reserve funds in 2032.

Without congressional action before then, Social Security would be able to pay out only about 80 percent of scheduled benefits.

“Voters sent a clear message on Election Day: Protect Social Security,” said John Hishta, AARP’s senior vice president for campaigns. “Older voters overwhelmingly want Social Security protected — without cuts.”

Hishta noted that nearly two-thirds of voters under age 50 agreed with that position. “Across generations and parties, voters understand what’s at stake, and they expect their elected leaders to act,” he said.

Control of Congress was up for grabs in Tuesday’s election, with all 435 House seats and 35 Senate seats on the ballot. The Democrats won majorities in the House and the Senate, although the final margins may not be clear for days or weeks, as some states, including Mississippi and Alaska, continue to tally ballots.

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Another clear result from the election: Older voters played an outsize role in the outcome. Older voters accounted for 60 percent of the national electorate, and the figure was even higher in key battleground states such as South Carolina and Ohio.

That’s nothing new: In every national election since 2002, people 65 and older have cast ballots at higher rates than their younger counterparts, according to U.S. Census data. That matters particularly in a midterm year, when overall turnout tends to be lower than presidential election years.

‘Social Security needs to stick around’

AARP is urging Congress to address Social Security’s funding gap without any cuts to benefits. An August 2026 AARP survey of adults 50-plus who receive retirement benefits found that even a 5 percent benefit cut could force recipients to reduce spending on basic needs, draw down savings or delay health care. Half of those polled said Social Security is their main source of income.

In interviews before Tuesday’s election, older Americans cited a range of concerns, from inflation and affordability to health care and immigration. But Social Security was a recurring theme. “I’ve contributed to Social Security since I was probably 10, 12 years old,” Rusty McKenzie, 60, of Anchorage, Alaska, told AARP before the election.

“I delivered newspapers, and I paid my Social Security then, and I pay it today,” said McKenzie, who spent much of his career working in the oil and gas industry. “I would like to see what people have put into it stay and be available for them. Social Security needs to stick around.”

An AARP poll in the lead-up to Tuesday’s balloting found that when older voters in the most competitive congressional districts were asked about issues that would decide their vote, 83 percent identified Social Security as a key focus. Eighty percent referenced the cost of health care and rising prices for everyday essentials.

An overwhelming majority — 94 percent — said they would be more likely to vote for a candidate who will make sure workers get the Social Security they’ve earned, while 85 percent would favor one who promises to protect Social Security from cuts. (The survey of 1,368 likely voters age 18 and over, conducted across 43 swing congressional districts in early October, has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.65 percent.)

Rising costs raising retirement fears

The new voter poll showed that economic anxiety was an overriding concern for older Americans, with 62 percent of voters 50 to 64 citing that as their top issue, with the price of groceries, health care and prescription drugs topping the list of cost concerns.

The link between inflation and retirement security was evident in a recent poll by the financial firm TIAA, with 4 in 5 respondents saying the rising cost of living is impacting their ability to save for retirement. Asked what retirement-related issues they want elected officials to prioritize, most said lowering everyday costs, and nearly 40 percent said strengthening Social Security and retirement benefits.

“The new Congress taking office in January will have the opportunity to address the Social Security trust fund shortfall,” Jim Johnson, global head of government relations and public policy at TIAA, said in a statement about the poll findings. “In an era of sharp division, retirement security is a rare area of common ground, and Congress should treat it that way.”

Bill Sweeney, AARP’s senior vice president for government affairs, notes that at least 16 new senators were elected Tuesday and they will be in office when the deadline to address Social Security’s funding gap arrives in 2032.

“We have an important and urgent fight to shift the debate away from proposals that would cut Social Security and instead work to strengthen and protect Social Security for future generations,” Sweeney said. “This is what the voters overwhelmingly are asking for, and we need to make sure this new Congress understands what is at stake.”

Ledge King and Miriam Cross contributed to this story.

The key takeaways were created with the assistance of generative AI. An AARP editor reviewed and refined the content for accuracy and clarity.

Deirdre Shesgreen is an AARP writer and editor covering Social Security. She previously worked as a state news editor for the AARP Bulletin and as a reporter and editor at USA Today, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and other publications.

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