Over Half (55%) of Americans Concerned That Social Security Benefits Will Not Be There In Retirement

New York, NY - Over half (55%) of Americans are concerned that Social Security benefits will not be there for them when needed in retirement, according to an Ipsos poll conducted on behalf of RBC Wealth Management. While the majority are concerned about the availability of benefits, more than seven in ten (72%) expect to rely on these benefits in retirement.

The recent market correction and volatility likely has many Americans thinking about their retirement and various strategies they could employ to ensure that they have enough income in their golden years. It appears that social security benefits are important to many Americans, with most saying they will need to rely on them, although many are concerned that the benefits won't be available to them when they need them.

When it comes to social security benefits...

• 41% say they will need to rely on social security benefits in retirement, but are concerned the benefits won't be there when they need them.
• 31% believe they'll need to rely on social security benefits in retirement, and they're confident those benefits will be available to them.
• 15% won't need to rely on social security benefits in retirement, but are confident they'll be available for those who need them.
• 14% don't think they'll need to rely on social security benefits in retirement, but also don't think the benefits would be available even if they needed them.

Not surprisingly, confidence (or lack thereof) in the availability of Social Security in retirement differs by generation: Generation X (35 to 54 years old) are the least confident that Social Security benefits will be available to them when they retire (67%), compared to Millennials (55%, 18 to 34 years old), and Baby Boomers (41%, 55 years old and up). In addition, the expectations for needing Social Security also differs by generation: Baby Boomers are most likely to expect to rely on benefits when they retire (83%), compared to Generation X (70%) and Millennials (61%).

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted on behalf of RBC Wealth Management from October 6 to October 9, 2015. For the survey, a sample of n=2009 Americans was interviewed online via Ipsos's American online panel. The precision of Ipsos online surveys is measured using a Bayesian credibility interval. In this case, with a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within 177 2.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the sample universe of Americans been polled. The margin of error will be larger within sub-groupings of the survey population.

For more information on this news release, please contact:

Sean Simpson Vice President Ipsos Public Affairs (416) 572-4474 [email protected]

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