81 percent of Gen X worried they won’t get Social Security benefits

The majority of Generation X Americans are worried that they won’t get Social Security benefits paid out once they retire, according to a new survey released Thursday.

The new Bankrate poll found that 81 percent of Gen X were concerned that their promised benefits will not be paid once they reach retirement age. Baby boomers placed second at 76 percent. Millennials were in third place at 69 percent, while Generation Z was at 60 percent.

Just 6 percent of Americans were not concerned that Social Security won’t be paid out to them upon retirement, while another 10 percent did not know how concerned they are, according to the poll.

“Social Security provides a vital backstop for current and prospective retirees, yet the financial outlook for this popular program is cloudy,” Bankrate senior economic analyst Mark Hamrick said.

The majority of older Americans expect to rely on Social Security. Approximately 69 percent of nonretired baby boomers and 56 percent of Gen X said they will rely on the social safety program to pay for expenses once they retire.

The figure is lower for younger Americans. Around 48 percent of unretired millennials and 46 percent of Gen Z expect to rely on Social Security benefits to pay for their expense in retirement, according to the survey. Just 14 percent of unretired Americans said they wouldn’t rely on the program to pay for bills once they hit retirement age.

When split by gender, more men, 57 percent, than women, 50 percent, said they expect to rely on the social safety program once in retirement.

Right now, the majority of retired Americans, 77 percent, rely on Social Security while only 15 percent said they do not, according to the poll.

A Gallup poll, released in December last year, found that Americans were more optimistic about the future of Social Security than they’ve been in recent years, with 50 percent expecting the program to pay them a benefit once they retire.

The Bankrate survey was conducted Oct. 9-11 among 2,492 U.S. adults.

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