NEW YORK, May 8 (Xinhua) -- As the U.S. Social Security Administration undergoes massive changes and staffing cuts ushered in by the Trump administration, an increasing share of older Americans -- particularly Democrats --aren't confident the benefit will be available to them, a new poll has showed.
The share of older Americans who are "not very" or "not at all" confident has risen somewhat since 2023, according to The Associated Press (AP)-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll conducted in April. In the poll, about three in ten U.S. adults aged 60 or older are "not very" or "not at all" confident that social security benefits will be there for them when they need it, up from about 2 in 10 in an AP-NORC poll conducted in 2023.
"That shift looks very different depending on older Americans' political party, though," noted AP in its report about the poll on Thursday. There has been a substantial decrease in confidence among older Democrats. About half of Democrats aged 60 or older are "not very" or "not at all confident" that social security will be there for them when they need it, a sizable swing from 2023, when only about 1 in 10 said they were "not very" or "not at all" confident.
Older Republicans, on the other hand, have become more confident that social security will be there for them. In contrast with older Democrats, about six in ten Republicans aged 60 or older are "extremely" or "very" confident that social security will be there when they need it, up from only about one-quarter who thought this in 2023.
