NoSSN - Poll: Little Faith In Social Security

Only 25 percent of the population thinks it will get all the benefits current retirees receive, according to a poll released Sunday by the Empire State Survey on the Generations. The rest expect to either receive none (25 percent), or only a fraction (46 percent) of those Social Security benefits.

The poll reveals a corresponding Decrease in the level of trust with the age of the person responding to the survey. Two-thirds of senior citizens trust in Social Security, compared to 41 percent of those age 51 to 64; 17 percent of those age 36 to 50; and 9 percent of those between 18 and 35.

According to government predictions, Social Security is expected to go broke by 2029 unless the current system if reformed. Economic analysts are currently recommending proposals to keep Social Security solvent by turning it into a private retirement system that is no longer completely funded by the government.

The survey found 46 percent of Americans favor such plans, while 42 percent oppose.

A slightly higher number of people feel that they will receive Medicare benefits when they retire. Thirty percent were optimistic while 58 percent expect the Medicare program to go bankrupt by the time they retire.

Those surveyed appear to be more protective of their Social Security benefits than of Medicare. While approximately 75 percent would approve of congressional changes to the Medicare system, such as forcing people with higher incomes to pay more of their medical costs than those with lower incomes, only half agree that those with higher incomes should receive reduced Social Security benefits.

The random telephone survey of 1,200 Americans was conducted Nov. 14-24. The poll was sponsored by the Lehrman Institute and the Empire Foundation and has a margin of error of +/- 2.8 percentage points.

"We can't be so fixated on our desire to preserve the rights of ordinary Americans." -- William Jefferson Clinton, USA Today, March 11,1993.

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