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Nearly two-thirds of Voters View Social Security favorably

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 64% of Likely U.S. Voters view Social Security at least somewhat favorably, but 32% have an at least somewhat unfavorable opinion of the program...This includes 28% who view it Very Favorably and 10% Very Unfavorably (To see survey question wording, click here.)

Similarly, 61% hold an at least somewhat favorable regard for Medicare, including 27% with a Very Favorable opinion. But 34% view the government health insurance program for the elderly at least somewhat unfavorably, with 10% who have a Very Unfavorable opinion of it.

Voters over 40 are more enthusiastic fans of the programs than those who are younger. Eighty-eight percent (88%) of voters 65 and older view Social Security favorably, while 85% in that age group say the same of Medicare. However, roughly half of voters under the age of 40 view both programs unfavorably or have no opinion of them at all.

As Congress debates ways to cut the massive federal deficit, the majority of voters now understand that most of the federal budget goes to national defense, Medicare and Social Security.  But 64% say any proposed changes in either Social Security or Medicare should be submitted to the American people before it can become law.

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The national survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on June 21, 2011 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology. 

Just last September, only 47% of voters agreed that Social Security is a good deal for working Americans today.  Fifty-seven percent (57%) are not very or not at all confident that they will receive all their promised Social Security benefits during their lifetimes.

During the congressional debate prior to passage of the national health care plan in March of last year, 56% of voters opposed the effort to “reduce spending on Medicare by several hundred billion dollars.”

Political liberals view both Social Security and Medicare more favorably than conservatives. Democrats like both programs more than Republicans and voters not affiliated with either party do.

But the majority of voters across all demographic categories hold a favorable view of the two government programs.

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary describes a Ponzi scheme as “an investment swindle in which some early investors are paid off with money put up by later ones in order to encourage more and bigger risks.” But just 27% of voters agreed with Wisconsin Republican Senate candidate Ron Johnson last year that Social Security is a Ponzi scheme.  However, Johnson was elected to the U.S. Senate.

The current full retirement age for Social Security is 66, and 51% of voters oppose a proposal to raise that to 70.  But 60% like the idea of raising the level of income taxable for Social Security.

In August 2009, 49% of voters said working Americans should be allowed to opt out of Social Security and provide for their own retirement planning.

Additional information from this survey and a full demographic breakdown are available to Platinum Members only.