Gallup’s poll shows that more non-retirees and retirees expect to rely on Social Security as a major source of income after they retire.
Even after this increase, nonretirees are much less likely to see Social Security as a major retirement funding source (33%) than current retirees are to say they rely on it as a major source of income today (57%). This gap in nonretiree expectations versus retiree reality has been a consistent trend over the past decade.
This gap shouldn’t be surprising, since it’s a major reason that Social Security was created. People have underestimated or under-saved what they would need for retirement for decades. Social Security is meant to be there to make up for that planning gap.
