Public confidence in the future of Social Security has dipped in the last five years, with younger Americans found to be more pessimistic about it, according to a new survey released by the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP).

The survey released Tuesday found that of the 3,599 respondents polled, 36 percent were very or somewhat confident in the future of Social Security – a 7-point drop from 2020. Lower confidence levels were mainly driven by younger Americans, the survey found, as those in their 30s were found to be the most pessimistic. 

A closer look at party affiliation signaled shifts in confidence levels based on who was in the White House. 

This year, Republican respondents were found to be the most confident about the system’s future, with a level of 44 percent, compared to 30 percent for those who identified as independent and 32 percent who identified as Democratic.

By contrast, those who identified as Republicans during the Obama administration were least confident about Social Security’s future, while confidence levels topped 50 percent for Democratic-identifying respondents at the time.

More retired respondents now say they either rely on or plan to rely on Social Security in a substantial way for retirement income, rising from 51 percent in 2005 to 65 percent in 2025. In the same time frame, the percentage of those who say they don’t rely on the program for retirement income has only slightly risen, hitting 13 percent this year, compared to 10 percent in 2005.

The combined trust funds for Social Security are projected to run out in 2034, a year earlier than previously predicted, a board of trustees of the program’s accounts said in a report released last month.

The report said the depletion dates for the funds had advanced by “about three calendar quarters” compared with the previous year’s projections. The report cited last year’s passage of the Social Security Fairness Act as a key factor behind the shift in the funds’ projected depletion dates.

The bipartisan bill repealed two tax rules that proponents say unfairly reduced benefits for many Americans who also receive government pensions. But many experts sounded the alarm over its expected price tag and raised questions of fairness around the legislation. 

In the latest survey, 74 percent of all respondents said they see Social Security as one of the most important government programs, up from 68 percent recorded in 2020.

Older Americans were found to be more likely to believe it’s unfair to make major changes to the program that would affect retirees or those close to retiring, with 95 percent of those ages 50 and older saying as much, compared to 85 percent of those between 18 and 49 years of age.

The survey was conducted from June 18-23. The nonprofit organization said the data has been weighted by “age, sex, census division, race/ethnicity, education attainment and AARP membership.” The survey also listed a confidence interval of the total sample of 2.04 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level.