Key Points
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Most retirees couldn’t cope with a big Social Security cut.
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Cuts are a looming threat, but most people won’t see them right away.
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Retirees should start saving for a rainy day, and workers should plan for benefit cuts later.
Social Security was created 90 years ago as a means of helping seniors stay out of poverty. Today, all these years later, many seniors still rely on these benefits as a crucial source of income during their retirement years.
Unfortunately, this has left many retirees so dependent on these benefits that cuts would be financially devastating. That’s a huge problem, since the Social Security benefit program is in serious jeopardy of cuts occurring within the coming years, due to the fact that the program’s trust fund is in trouble.
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Here’s what retirees had to say about how Social Security cuts could affect their finances
Recently, a Nationwide Financial survey addressed the potential for Social Security benefit cuts. According to the survey, over half of the adults in the U.S. who expect to receive a Social Security benefit indicated that they couldn’t financially survive missing even half of a monthly payment. In fact:
- 14% strongly agreed they wouldn’t be able to survive a missed payment
- 30% somewhat agreed
74% of survey respondents also made it clear that they were worried about Social Security benefits running out at some point during the course of their lifetimes, and 83% expressed concern about the long-term viability of the program.
Social Security benefit cuts could be coming
It’s a huge problem that so many people are unable to survive even a small reduction in Social Security benefits for a month, given the fact that Social Security is at risk of automatic benefit cuts.
The program’s trust fund is currently slated to run dry in 2034, which could result in an automatic 19% cut to benefits. That’s because Social Security would only be able to pay benefits out of the money coming in from current workers after the trust fund was depleted.
With the average monthly Social Security benefit coming in at around $2,006 as of July 2025, a 19% cut could lead to seniors losing around $4,573.68 per year — an amount many retirees couldn’t afford to do without.
Retirees are over-relying on Social Security
Obviously, a cut to benefits would not be ideal and would go against the promises made to retirees who have been working and paying into the system.
The reality, however, is that cuts would hit seniors so hard because many people are relying too much on Social Security and have too little saved and invested. Retirement benefits are only meant to replace around 40% of income, with the rest coming as distributions from retirement plans.
If retirees had enough saved in a 401(k), they could make up for any shortfalls from a cut to Social Security benefits. Unfortunately, many Americans fall short in their 401(k) and IRA investments, and they don’t supplement their Social Security as much as they should.
Furthermore, many seniors are lacking emergency savings, and are especially vulnerable to any change in their income because of it. Inflation in recent years hasn’t helped those on fixed incomes either, leaving many retirees in a position where they are struggling already. That helps explain why so many people said missing part of a check would be devastating.
Seniors should aim to try to save more for a rainy day now if they can, in case benefit cuts come. Those who are currently working and engaged in retirement planning should aim to save more for their later years in anticipation of potential future cuts to their Social Security funds.
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