I’ll leave it to you to decide what all this means or how reliable it may be, (especially surveys) but in any case Social Security is pretty important to most retirees.
Why is the important question. It makes sense for perhaps the lowest 20-25% of the income distribution, but for the great majority of others there is no excuse. Also, the reliance on Social Security should not increase with age. That’s part of planning.
Why? Because prudent financial management and planning over a working lifetime can avoid such dependency. But, that takes determination, avoiding immediate gratification, patience, perhaps frugality and adherence to financial priorities.
Data varies slightly by source and year due to survey methods (e.g., self-reported vs. linked administrative/tax records), but consistent patterns emerge:
• At least 50% of income from SS: ~40–52% of aged individuals/households (often cited around 40–42% in adjusted analyses, up to 52% in CPS data). Some surveys of seniors put it higher (~60–73%).
• At least 75–90% of income from SS: ~14–22% rely on it for 75%+, and ~14–25% for 90%+ (or nearly all their income).
• Sole source: Estimates range from ~14–27% (or higher in some advocacy surveys), equating to millions of seniors (e.g., ~22 million in one 2025 estimate).
Gallup data (2019–2024) shows 58% of retirees view SS as a “major source” of income — far higher than expectations before retirement.
Variations by Group
• Stronger reliance among lower-income retirees: For the bottom 20–40% of the income distribution, SS often makes up 80–90%+ of income.
• Increases with age: Reliance grows as people age (e.g., higher percentages for 75+ or 80+ due to depleted savings or other factors).
• Other income sources (the “three-legged stool”): Pensions, 401(k)/IRAs, savings, investments, and part-time work supplement SS for many, but these are less common or sufficient for lower earners. Without SS, poverty rates among seniors would be much higher (~40% vs. current levels).
The poverty rate for Americans age 65 and older was 9.9% in 2024 under the official poverty measure. That means about 1 in 10 older Americans were below the poverty threshold.
QUINNSCOMMENTARY 
Can you at least start with data other than CPS – that survey is intentionally misleading, suggesting America is suffering a retirement crisis!
Yes, a minority of Americans over age 65 are living in poverty, however, a smaller percentage than American adults (ages 18 – 64) – for 22 of the last 23 years! That is, more often than not, a smaller percentage of adults age 65+ are living in poverty than those 18 – 64 – suggesting some leave poverty when commencing retirement/Social Security.
Andrew Biggs, an economist and senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) stridently criticizes the Current Population Survey (CPS) for producing misleading, overly pessimistic data regarding American retirement readiness, income levels, and senior poverty rates.
https://www.asppa-net.org/news/2025/4/the-real-retirement-crisis/
Biggs core criticisms of the CPS include:
Exclusion of Retirement Account Withdrawals: The CPS only counts “regular” or recurring income, such as Social Security checks or traditional pensions. It completely ignores occasional or lump-sum withdrawals from personal retirement vehicles like 401(k)s and IRAs, vastly understating retiree income.
Exaggerated Senior Poverty Metrics: By failing to count private retirement account withdrawals, the CPS (and its resulting Official Poverty Measure) paints an inaccurate picture of elderly poverty, vastly overstating the severity.
Flawed Workplace Coverage Data: Following a 2014 redesign of the CPS questionnaire, the survey recorded a sharp drop in the percentage of workers reporting that a retirement plan was offered at work. Biggs attributes this to bad survey methodology.
When comparing CPS data to tax data recorded by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the CPS misses at least 60% of the income being delivered to retirees through pensions and IRAs.
Because of these inconsistencies, Biggs asserts that the narrative of a U.S. “retirement crisis” is largely a myth driven by flawed or missing data, and that researchers should rely on tax filings and comprehensive wellness statistics instead.
LikeLike