Concerns about the Social Security system have surged to a 15-year high, with 52 percent of U.S. adults now expressing “a great deal” of worry about the program’s future, according to a Gallup poll released last week.
The 9-percentage-point increase since last year marks one of the sharpest rises among all national concerns tracked in the annual survey.
Why It Matters
The survey reveals a broader trend of economic anxiety among Americans, with the five top concerns relating to financial security.
The Social Security Administration (SSA) sends monthly checks to some 70 million Americans and is widely considered the most popular government program.
But the federal agency, like others, has in recent weeks come under the watchful eye of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an initiative tasked with cutting perceived waste and fraud within the federal bureaucracy.
Its efforts have led to thousands of job cuts and the closure of some offices and internal departments, as well as reports of delayed or stopped benefits.
What To Know
The Gallup poll, conducted between March 3-16 with 1,002 adults nationwide, found Social Security now ranks as the fifth most worrisome issue for Americans, behind only the economy (60 percent), healthcare costs (59 percent), inflation (56 percent), and federal spending and the budget deficit (53 percent).
When combined with the additional 24 percent who said they worry “a fair amount” about Social Security, that amounts to 76 percent of Americans expressing at least moderate concern about the program’s future.
Concern about Social Security also varied significantly between political parties, Gallup’s polling data shows.
Democrats and Democratic-leaning adults experienced a sharp increase in concern, with the share of those worrying “a great deal” about the future of the Social Security system going from 35 percent in 2024 to 65 percent in 2025, a 30-point jump.
By contrast, Republicans and Republican-leaning adults saw a drop in concern, declining from 50 percent last year to 39 percent in 2025, an 11-point decrease.
These partisan swings reflect a broader trend where Americans tend to express more concern about key issues when the opposing party controls the White House, according to Gallup analyst Megan Brenan.
The return of President Donald Trump appears to have driven up Democratic concern while easing Republican anxiety on Social Security.
Changes to Social Security such as workforce reductions, the cutting of roughly 7,000 jobs, the closure of internal departments, and the consolidation of SSA’s regional offices from 10 to four have led some critics to say operations have been strained and that those with limited access to online services have been disadvantaged.
Rising concern about Social Security is likely also due to the fact many Americans rely heavily on Social Security services.
For example, data from the U.S. Census Bureau showed that Americans aged 75 and older are especially reliant on Social Security or other forms of social insurance, receiving about 60 percent of their income from government benefits on average.
This leaves many Americans more worried about losing their benefits particularly at a time when major changes are being made to the system.
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Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images
What People Are Saying
Former SSA commissioner Martin O’Malley, on X, formerly Twitter: “Elon Musk and Donald Trump are gutting Social Security with a chainsaw, and I’m deeply concerned.”
Max Richtman, president and CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, said on April 2: “Under the influence of Trump, Musk and DOGE, the leadership of the Social Security Administration has been recklessly slashing services, offices, and staff. These harmful policies have already hindered our members and supporters (mostly seniors, people with disabilities, and their families) from collecting the benefits they have paid for.”
Tabitha Bonilla, professor in Human Development and Social Policy at Northwestern University, told Newsweek: “I think this echoes a lot of concern over what DOGE is doing, what DOGE has access to, and if the social safety net piece of government that everyone relies on will continue to function. Everyone who has worked in this country pays in to Social Security, and for most people, this is an important part of retirement planning. I think in general, this corresponds to broader concerns about how our government is functioning and will continue to function in the future.”
What Happens Next
The scope for further cuts at the SSA is unknown at this time. Legal action has been launched by several advocacy groups and Social Security recipients in the hope that some of the DOGE changes can be reversed.
Update 04/08/25, 03:04 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with comment from Tabitha Bonilla.
