Nationwide Survey: 83% of Americans Are Worried Social Security Won’t Survive, and Here’s What to Do About It

The fear is loud, and the data backs it up. According to the Nationwide Retirement Institute’s 2025 Social Security Survey, 83% of Americans currently receiving or expecting to receive Social Security are concerned about the program’s future. That worry is not happening in a vacuum. The Social Security Administration’s own trustees project that the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund will be depleted in 2033, at which point only 77% of scheduled benefits would be payable from incoming payroll taxes alone. The math is the message: even without congressional action, the program does not vanish; the checks simply shrink.

Here is what the numbers actually show, and what you can do this year to lower your dependence on a benefit that is shrinking in real terms before it shrinks on paper.

Why the Fear Is Rational

Start with what retirees actually receive. The average monthly Social Security check for retired workers was approximately $2,079 as of March 2026, after a 2.8% cost-of-living adjustment took effect in January. That sounds reasonable until you put it next to inflation. The Consumer Price Index reached 330.213 in March 2026, and Core PCE, the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, remains well above the Fed’s 2% target. Cost-of-living adjustments are calculated in arrears using CPI-W, so the average retiree’s purchasing power keeps slipping between annual adjustments.

The mood matches the math. University of Michigan consumer sentiment fell to 53.3 in March 2026, down roughly 5.8% from the prior month, approaching territory associated with recessionary consumer psychology. People feel poorer because, in real purchasing power terms, many of them are.

Average vs. Typical: A Familiar Gap

The roughly $2,079 figure is a mean, and means flatter the picture. A median-sized benefit covers groceries, a Medicare premium, and a utility bill in most ZIP codes, and not much else. The standard Medicare Part B premium rose to $202.90 in 2026, up $17.90 from 2025, which effectively absorbed a significant portion of the COLA increase before it could reach household spending.

Layer in household debt, and the squeeze gets sharper. Aggregate household debt reached $18.8 trillion in December 2025, up $4.6 trillion since 2019, and 4.8% of outstanding debt was in some stage of delinquency. The personal savings rate has slid from around 6.2% in early 2024 to approximately 4% in the first quarter of 2026. Americans are saving less while owing more, right as the program they expected to backstop them is doing the same.

Three Steps to Reduce Your Dependence

1. Delay your claim if you can. Filing at 62 permanently reduces benefits by roughly 30% versus full retirement age, and waiting until 70 adds about 8% per year of delay after full retirement age. The Nationwide survey found 69% of respondents are interested in learning how to use other income streams to delay filing. That delay is the single highest-return decision most retirees can make, and the gap between the early claiming amount and the age-70 amount widens every year it is deferred.
2. Max out catch-up contributions after 50. The IRS allows workers age 50 and over to contribute an extra $8,000 on top of the standard 401(k) limit in 2026, with a higher super catch-up of $11,250 available for workers ages 60 to 63 whose plans permit it. With average hourly earnings at $37.38 in March 2026, wage growth is still outpacing the CPI for many workers, creating room to redirect raises directly into tax-advantaged accounts before retirement.
3. Build a dividend income layer. Reliable payers can replace a portion of what Social Security may not. Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG | PG Price Prediction) has raised its dividend for 69 consecutive years and currently yields approximately 2.9%. Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) marked its 63rd consecutive annual dividend increase in 2026 and yields approximately 2.6%. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) has 63 years of consecutive increases and currently yields approximately 2.6%. For a higher yield, Altria Group (NYSE: MO) yields approximately 5.8%. None of these replaces Social Security on its own. The goal is to make a potential 23% benefit reduction in 2033 a manageable event rather than a financial emergency.

The Honest Bottom Line

The 83% who worry are reading the trustees’ report correctly. Social Security is unlikely to disappear, but the smart planning assumption is that the benefit you receive in 2033 and beyond will buy less than you expect, and may arrive in smaller amounts than the law currently promises. Save more, claim later, and build an income stream you control. The program will survive in some form. Your purchasing power is the variable that actually needs protecting.