Top 10 Things Investors Get Wrong About Social Security: 2024

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Social Security is one of those things that just about everyone knows something about, but many Americans cannot correctly identify 10 statements about its basic elements as true or false, according to results of a new survey from Nationwide.

A third of respondents did not even know at what age they would be eligible for full retirement benefits. Only 15% of adults correctly answered that their full retirement age is based on their year of birth.

The Harris Poll conducted the online survey from April 19 to May 13 among 1,831 U.S. adults who currently receive or expect to receive Social Security, including 313 member of Generation Z, 506 millennials, 506 Gen Xers and 506 baby boomers. Pollsters also collected oversamples for a total of 630 Asian adults and 526 people ages 60 to 65.

Survey respondents expressed strong opinions about Social Security. Three-quarters worried about the program’s running out of funding in their lifetime, and said that they system needs to change.

Sixty-nine percent of participants said a candidate’s stance on Social Security reform would be a key factor in how they vote in the November presidential election. These are the top ways many said the system needs to change:

Increase taxes on high earners in order to boost funding
Reduce taxes on benefits
Increase funding through taxes paid by employers

The survey found that three-quarters of respondents were interested in learning from a financial professional how to manage savings in retirement. Perhaps unsurprisingly, inflation was the main risk factor they wanted to discuss with an advisor.

Some 60% of respondents who already work with a financial professional said their advisor informs them how and when to file for Social Security benefits. But they want more than that. Eighty percent said they would likely switch to another professional if their advisor failed to show them how to maximize their benefits.

The survey included a true-or-false quiz. In the gallery are the 10 questions respondents missed most often. Response accuracy of 50% or more indicates higher knowledge of topics, 35% to 49% moderate knowledge and less than 35% lowest knowledge.

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