Americans Skeptical About Social Security Crisis
Opinions on future of retirement system vary with age
By Keating Holland/CNN
WASHINGTON (April 10) -- Most Americans do not think there is a crisis in the financial condition of the Social Security system, but people under the age of 65 think Social Security will go bankrupt before they retire, according to a new CNN/TIME Poll. And most of them don't think they would be able to save enough money to retire on if Social Security no longer existed.
Only 31 percent say that the system is currently in crisis; a majority say that there are problems, but not a crisis.
The public opposes raising Social Security taxes, cutting benefits, or hiking the retirement age to shore up the system. But 60 percent support the idea of allowing workers to put some of their payroll taxes into private investments such as the stock market, and 80 percent say that if such investments were allowed, individual workers, not the
government, should control those investments.
A full 59 percent say they would do so themselves if they were allowed to. Of course, that's easy to say in a week when the Dow Jones industrial average topped 9,000.
Americans are more bullish on the stock market than in previous years. Fifty-seven percent say that, if they had $1,000 to spend, it would be a good idea to invest it in the stock market.
The public is not sure that President Bill Clinton and Congress will
be able to fix Social Security. Forty-three percent of people surveyed believe a fix is likely, but 46 percent don't think Clinton and Congress will be able to put a solution into place.
The results are based on interviews with 1,011 adults on April 8-9, and the survey has a margin of sampling error from +/- 3 to 8 percentage points, depending on the question. Some questions were asked of the entire sample, but some only to people under 65.
Here are the numbers:
Financial Condition of Social Security System
|
Crisis
|
31%
|
Problems, but not crisis
|
55
|
No problems
|
10
|
All Americans
Sampling error: +/-3% pts
|
Will Social Security Go Bankrupt Before You Retire?
|
Yes
|
54%
|
No
|
42
|
Asked of Americans under age 65
Sampling error: +/-3.5% pts
|
If Social Security Did Not Exist, Could You Save Enough To Retire?
|
Yes
|
44%
|
No
|
52
|
Asked of Americans under age 65
Sampling error: +/-3.5% pts
|
Allowing Workers To Invest A Portion of Social Security Taxes
|
Favor
|
60%
|
Oppose
|
35
|
All Americans
Sampling error: +/-3% pts
|
Who Should Control Social Security Investments?
|
Individuals
|
80%
|
Government
|
14
|
All Americans
Sampling error: +/-3% pts
|
Would You Invest a Portion of Social Security Taxes If Allowed?
|
Yes
|
59%
|
No
|
35
|
All Americans
Sampling error: +/-3% pts
|
Investing in Stock Market Is a Good Idea
|
Now
|
57%
|
1994
|
38
|
1990
|
26
|
All Americans
Sampling error: +/-3% pts
|
Will Congress and Clinton Be Able To Fix Social Security?
|
Yes
|
43%
|
No
|
46
|
All Americans
Sampling error: +/-3% pts
|
Sentiments vary with age
How you feel about Social Security depends a lot on how old you are. People under 35 think that the Social Security system is unfair to people their age, while Baby Boomers are split, and people over 50 think the system is fair.
Support for the proposal to allow workers to invest a portion of their Social Security taxes privately drops with age, although only people old enough to actually be getting Social Secruity benefits oppose that change. How far you are from retirement is a major factor in attitudes toward Social Security.
Americans under 35 will not retire for 30 years, so they are most likely to say that Social Security will go bankrupt before then. But with 30 years of advance notice, they are also most likely to say they would be able to save enough to retire if Social Security did not exist.
People between age 50 and 64 are most worried about saving enough for retirement, but are confident that Social Security will not go bankrupt. People between 35-49 years old are in the worst position. They are convinced that Social Security will go bankrupt, but worried they would not be able to save enough for retirement without it.
Is Social Security Fair To People Your Age?
|
|
Yes
|
No
|
18-34 years old
|
41%
|
52%
|
35-49 years old
|
46
|
45
|
50-64 years old
|
61
|
27
|
Over 64 years old
|
80
|
15
|
Sampling error: +/-8% pts
|
Favor Allowing Workers To Invest A Portion of Social Security Taxes
|
18-34 years old
|
69%
|
35-49 years old
|
63
|
50-64 years old
|
55
|
Over 64 years old
|
41
|
Sampling error: +/-8% pts
|
Social Security Will Go Bankrupt Before You Retire?
|
18-34 years old
|
67%
|
35-49 years old
|
57
|
50-64 years old
|
23
|
Sampling error: +/-7% pts
|
If Social Security Did Not Exist, You Could Save Enough To Retire
|
18-34 years old
|
47%
|
35-49 years old
|
43
|
50-64 years old
|
38
|
Sampling error: +/-7% pts
|
|