A new study indicates that an increasing number of millennials are beginning to doubt that the Social Security Trust Fund they pay into through payroll taxes will still be around when they retire.
According to a new survey by Transamerica, approximately 80 percent of millennials do not expect to collect Social Security benefits by the time they reach the eligible age, a significantly higher number compared to baby boomers. As the report said, “Generation X (83 percent) and Millennials (80 percent) are more likely than Baby Boomers (65 percent) to be concerned that Social Security will not be there for them when they are ready to retire.”
These numbers represent a sharp increase in the percentage of millennials over the last decade who have little faith in the government to provide them with Social Security benefit. In 2011, about 50 percent of millennials expressed any concern that the Social Security fund could dry up before they reach eligibility.
While the numbers of millennials with skepticism about the Social Security system may seem surprising, a number of politicians have seized on the issue in recent years to draw attention to the need for entitlement reform and long-term financial planning to ensure baby boomers do not leave behind a debt-ridden America to millennials. During his 2012 presidential campaign, current Secretary of Energy Rick Perry repeatedly attacked the Social Security system as being a scam for young voters, calling it a “Ponzi Scheme” and noting how under the current laws, young voters would not get their fair share.
[Also read: Millennial homelessness is on the rise]
Recently, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., has also proposed changes to the Social Security system that would enable families to draw a portion of their benefits earlier in order to fund a short family leave for new or expecting parents. While this proposal would enable younger individuals with new families to get their hands on some form of Social Security benefits prior to reaching the age of eligibility, such a plan may add to the financial woes facing the Social Security Trust Fund.
The Social Security Trust Fund is forecast to be depleted to bankruptcy in 2034. At that point, with no reserves to cover outflows, the trust fund would only pay out as much as it receives. Social Security payments would likely automatically be cut, and beneficiaries would receive about $0.75 to $0.80 for every $1 in benefits they’re eligible for.
John Patrick (@john_pat_rick) is a graduate of Canisius College and Georgia Southern University. He interned for Red Alert Politics during the summer of 2012 and has continued to contribute regularly.
