Many of the country’s seniors may be perplexed by the debate among American lawmakers about how and if to reform Social Security and Medicare. According to a recent Gallup poll, about two-thirds of older Americans tend to think the programs are great the way they are or 63% of Americans ages 65 and above says “Social Security is Fine as Is”.
A Social Security card is displayed on Oct. 12, 2021, in Tigard, Ore. Millions of Social Security recipients will soon learn just how high a boost they’ll get in their benefits next year. The increase to be announced on Thursday, Oct. 13, 2022, expected to be the highest in 40 years, is fueled by record high inflation and is meant to help cover the higher cost of food, fuel and other goods and services(AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File)
According to a poll taken in January and released on February 24 of persons 65 and over, 63% of them said they are “happy” with Social Security and Medicare. As compared to individuals ages 50 to 64, 30 to 49, and 18 to 29, this figure is 43%, 42%, and 35%, respectively. Lower- and middle-income persons are “modestly more likely” to be satisfied with Social Security and Medicare than upper-income adults.
It stands to reason that pensioners who depend on Social Security and Medicare would think well of the two programs. Nonetheless, there has also been a recent rising trend in overall program satisfaction.
Gallup has estimated Americans’ fulfillment with Government managed retirement and Federal medical care in January of most years starting around 2001. The surveying association ordinarily sees that as 31% to 47% of U.S. grown-ups are by the same token “very” or “to some degree” happy with the projects. Its most recent overview saw that as 45% of grown-ups generally speaking are fulfilled.
Do you ever get excited by policy proposals to address the Social Security funding shortfall? You might think that anyone who does needs to get a life. In fact, however, many retirees and soon-to-retirees snap to attention when legislation is introduced to address the Social Security system’s actuarial deficit. The system is currently slated to run out of money in 2034. (Photo via Getty Image)
According to the studies, partisan divides also appear to change depending on which party holds the White House. Generally, those who favor the party of the president in office are happier with the state of the country than those who support the opposition. The latest survey indicated that 52% of Democrats, 45% of independents and 39% of Republicans are satisfied with Social Security and Medicare.
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While these programs have become a focus of debate during the current debt ceiling negotiations between Republicans and Democrats, they are not particularly important to most Americans. Instead, the Gallup poll found much more concern about economic problems.
According to a survey conducted in January 2023, only 25% of Americans are happy with the health of the U.S. economy, leaving over three-quarters (72%) of them unsatisfied. In comparison, Social Security and Medicare both have identical discontent and satisfaction rates of 45%. Just 15% of Americans are pleased with the nation’s efforts to combat homelessness and poverty, leaving a staggering 83% of people unsatisfied.
House Democrats are reintroducing a Social Security reform bill popular with their party. This time, it features some changes aimed at attracting more support from Republicans. (Photo via zimmytws | iStock | Getty Images)
Only 40% of respondents to a different Gallup survey last year indicated they worried “greatly” about Social Security. It put it in the bottom half of Americans’ top concerns, far behind issues like inflation, crime, and hunger.
The Congressional Budget Office recently updated its projection of when the Social Security Administration’s retirement trust fund will run out, shifting it up a year to 2032, as highlighted by Gallup in their press release on February 24. There have been proposals to either reduce benefits, raise the full retirement age, or boost payroll taxes on Social Security as a result of this, which has alarmed certain members of Congress. But, a lot of Americans are not yet in a panic.
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According to Gallup, Americans are happier with the system now than they were in the early 2000s. This level of satisfaction is what makes improving Social Security so challenging because any suggestion of reducing or delaying retiree payouts implies weakening a program that most Americans find to be beneficial.
