More than half of Americans in swing states say that they support a reduction of benefits for higher-income recipients to increase the lifeline of Social Security, according to a poll by Morning Consult/Bloomberg.
When asked whether or not they support trimming benefits for higher-income recipients to extend the life of Social Security, 28 percent responded by saying that they "strongly support" that move and 29 percent said they "somewhat support," bringing the total of supportive respondents to 57 percent. It was unclear from the poll what income level the voters consider high income.
The response comes at a time when experts say that the program faces a funding challenge and in about a decade the $2.8 trillion trust fund could be depleted which may lead to reduced payments to retirees.
The Context
The poll was conducted between April 8-15 and surveyed close to 5,000 registered voters in key swing states—Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
The Morning Consult/Bloomberg poll showed that 85 percent of respondents prioritized senior services (Social Security and Medicare) when deciding who to vote for in the November 2024 election for U.S. president.
But when asked, "What is the single most important issue to you when deciding how to vote in the November 2024 election for U.S. president?" only 7 percent named senior services (Social Security and Medicare), while 34 percent said the economy.
Views
As far as how to extend the life of the Social Security program, "A lot of people want the government to take action, but they're not really sure how," Matt Monday, from Morning Consult, told Bloomberg. "But the things that they do feel sure about is that someone else [the wealthy] should do it."
In fact, 77 percent of the poll's respondents said billionaires' taxes should be raised; only 15 percent opposed.
Voters also said they supported collecting Social Security tax on wages "beyond just the first $168,600."
However, when asked if there should be an increase in the payroll tax rate from 6.2 percent to 7.75 percent, 35 percent supported the move while 50 percent opposed it. Social Security is currently financed through a dedicated payroll tax, according to the government website. Employers and employees pay 6.2 percent of wages up to the taxable maximum of $168,600 (in 2024), while the self-employed pay 12.4 percent.
Other ideas included raising the retirement age—even by a couple of years—which proved to be an unwelcome solution. The poll showed that 66 percent opposed raising the retirement age to receive full benefits to 69 years old from 67.
What's Next
There are some proposals that lawmakers have proposed, including one that aims to create a 13-person commission with a goal of including input from the president and leaders in Congress which will be tasked with developing recommendations over what to do with Social Security.
The poll from Morning Consult/Bloomberg is a monthly survey of swing states and has a margin of error of plus or minus 1 percentage point.
Newsweek contacted Morning Consult for comment via email on Wednesday.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Omar Mohammed is a Newsweek reporter based in the Greater Boston area. His focus is reporting on the Economy and ... Read more
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