Future Retirees Expecting Less, Poll Finds

After they retire, about half of Americans expect to get less Social Security benefits than senior citizens do now - and 25 percent don’t expect to receive any at all, according to a poll released Sunday.

The poll, conducted by the Empire State Survey on the Generations, also showed that younger Americans have much less faith in the system than older Americans.

Only one in four Americans believes that when they retire, they will get all the Social Security benefits that retirees are currently entitled to, the poll found.

Forty-six percent polled expect some Social Security benefits, but not all. And 25 percent say they’ll get none.

Two-thirds of senior citizens trust the system, compared to 41 percent of those age 51 to 64; 17 percent of those age 36 to 50; and 9 percent of those between 18 and 35.

Thirty percent of the respondents believe they will receive Medicare benefits, while 58 percent say the Medicare program will not have the money available to provide expected benefits in their retirement.

About three-fourths believe it is OK for Congress to change the Medicare system so that people with higher incomes pay more of their medical costs than those with lower incomes. But just over half say it would be acceptable for Congress to reduce the Social Security benefits received by those with higher incomes; a third are opposed to lowering Social Security for wealthier recipients.

Americans split - 46 percent in favor, 42 percent opposed - on proposals to turn Social Security into a private retirement system no longer completely funded by the government.