American workers are losing faith that they can retire comfortably, and the numbers behind their anxiety are hard to argue with. A survey released Tuesday by the Employee Benefit Research Institute and Greenwald Research found that only 64 percent of workers feel confident they have the funds for a comfortable retirement, a six-point drop in a single year, The Independent reported.
The decline is not abstract worry. The Congressional Budget Office reported in February that the Social Security trust fund will be severely depleted by 2032, less than six years from now. When that happens, retirees who spent decades paying into the system could see their monthly checks slashed by 20 to 25 percent, Nick St. George, owner of North Carolina-based St. George Wealth Management, told The Independent.
Put plainly: the average Social Security payment of $2,071 could fall to roughly $1,553. For millions of seniors on fixed incomes, that gap is the difference between making rent and missing it.
The survey's findings cut across the workforce. About half of current workers said they do not believe Social Security will "continue to provide benefits of equal value in the future." Even among retirees already drawing checks, 40 percent share that doubt.
Lisa Greenwald, CEO of Greenwald Research, framed the results as a call for action:
"The results show a clear need for more guidance, better planning tools and solutions that help people turn savings into lasting financial security."
That language is polite. The reality on the ground is rougher. At Republican town halls across Michigan and North Carolina, constituents have pressed lawmakers on Social Security and Medicare with unmistakable urgency. One retired teacher and coach from Michigan, identified only as Michael, told AP News: "We worked our entire life. But we can't get any help because we can't get through to anybody."
The frustration is compounded by real administrative disruptions. The Trump administration has begun layoffs affecting more than 10 percent of the Social Security Administration workforce and is closing dozens of offices nationwide. For retirees who already struggle to reach a human being on the phone, fewer offices and fewer staff make a bad situation worse.
As we have previously reported, the CBO's updated depletion timeline moved faster than many in Washington expected, compressing the window lawmakers have to act.
Social Security is only half the squeeze. Nearly 60 percent of workers told researchers that healthcare costs are already limiting their ability to save for retirement. Among retirees, 40 percent said their medical expenses exceeded what they had planned for.
The numbers from KFF, the healthcare research and polling firm, spell out why. A July 2025 KFF study estimated that the average retiree will spend $172,500 on healthcare during retirement. A separate KFF analysis found that Medicare premiums alone can consume as much as one-fourth of a retiree's Social Security payments.
Think about that arithmetic. A retiree collecting $2,071 a month could lose more than $500 of it to Medicare premiums before paying for groceries, housing, or utilities. If the trust fund runs dry and benefits drop to $1,553, the premium bite grows proportionally larger. The margin for error disappears entirely.
Rising healthcare expenses are already straining retirees' Social Security income, and the trajectory shows no sign of reversing.
The structural problem is straightforward. Fewer workers are paying into the system while an aging population draws more money out. The CBO's February report confirmed what actuaries have warned about for years: the math does not work without reform.
Yet Congress has treated Social Security like a political third rail for decades, preferring to kick the timeline down the road rather than make hard choices about revenue, eligibility, or benefit formulas. The trust fund is running out faster than Washington wants to admit, and every year of inaction narrows the menu of painless fixes.
Some policy voices have floated means-testing as a partial solution. One think tank has proposed capping Social Security payouts for high-income retirees, a move that would preserve benefits for those who need them most while slowing the fund's drain. Whether that idea gains traction in a Congress allergic to entitlement votes remains an open question.
The anxiety is not limited to survey data. AP News reported that voters have flooded town halls with fears about benefit cuts, putting direct heat on Republican members who must balance fiscal discipline with promises to protect seniors. In Berrien County, Michigan, a constituent named Val warned that retirees could "suddenly find themselves without the means to cover their housing, or the means to get the care they need or to be able to get food on the table."
Elon Musk's public comments have added fuel. Musk called Social Security "the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time" and said entitlements are "the big one to eliminate." The White House later clarified that Musk was referring to fraud within the system, not to eliminating benefits themselves. But the remarks landed in a climate where retirees are already on edge, and clarifications travel slower than headlines.
For lawmakers heading into a midterm cycle, the politics are treacherous. Voters who built their retirement plans around a promise from the federal government are not interested in hearing about long-term fiscal projections. They want to know whether their next check will arrive, and whether it will cover the bills.
The survey data, the CBO report, and the KFF studies all point in the same direction. Retirement in America is becoming less secure, not more. Confidence is falling. Costs are rising. The trust fund's clock is ticking toward 2032 with no legislative fix in sight.
Those nearing retirement in the next decade face the sharpest risk. They have the least time to adjust savings, the least flexibility to delay, and the most to lose if Congress waits until the last minute to act, or doesn't act at all.
Washington has spent years assuring Americans that Social Security is safe. The people paying into it, and the people depending on it, are no longer buying that assurance. And based on the government's own projections, they're right not to.