How Much Do People Know About Social Security?

Mathew Greenwald, Arie Kapteyn, Olivia Mitchell, Lisa Schneider

Published Nov 16, 2010

This study surveyed thousands of Americans about their knowledge of retirement planning in general and Social Security in particular. It found that most Americans feel ill prepared for retirement and have a very low level of understanding of how the Social Security system works, when they should start claiming, and how much they are likely to receive in benefits. Respondents expressed a high level of trust in the Social Security Administration and would like more guidance from the agency on how to improve their retirement planning.

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Document Details

  • Copyright: RAND Corporation
  • Availability: Web-Only
  • Year: 2010
  • Pages: 7
  • Document Number: WB-107-SSA

Citation

RAND Style Manual
Greenwald, Mathew, Arie Kapteyn, Olivia Mitchell, and Lisa Schneider, How Much Do People Know About Social Security? RAND Corporation, WB-107-SSA, 2010. As of October 5, 2024: https://www.rand.org/pubs/working_briefs/WB107.html
Chicago Manual of Style
Greenwald, Mathew, Arie Kapteyn, Olivia Mitchell, and Lisa Schneider, How Much Do People Know About Social Security? Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2010. https://www.rand.org/pubs/working_briefs/WB107.html.
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This issue of Insight summarizes research conducted within the Financial Literacy Center.

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