Nearly nine in 10 Americans age 65 and older support protecting Social Security benefits for current retirees even if it requires higher taxes on younger workers, according to a December 2025 Cato Institute survey conducted with YouGov.

The poll found that 89% of seniors favored maintaining current retirees’ benefits under that trade-off. Support fell steadily among younger age groups: 84% among those ages 55 to 64, 74% among ages 45 to 54, and 57% among ages 30 to 44.

Americans under 30 were the only age group in which a majority preferred protecting younger workers from higher taxes, even if that meant reducing benefits for current retirees. Fifty-three percent of that group favored protecting younger workers, compared with 47% who supported maintaining current retirees’ benefits through higher taxes.

The generational divide comes as Social Security faces a significant long-term financing problem. The Cato survey found that 58% of Americans believe younger workers are receiving a worse deal than today’s retirees, while 70% expect benefits to be reduced in the future.

The survey also found widespread confusion about how the program is financed. Nearly half of Americans did not know that payroll taxes paid by current workers help fund benefits for current retirees, reflecting Social Security’s largely pay-as-you-go structure.

At the same time, Americans were reluctant to accept higher taxes on themselves. While some tax increases initially received majority support when presented without a specific dollar figure, 77% opposed increasing their own payroll taxes by $1,300 annually.

Cato said the findings illustrate the political difficulty of addressing Social Security’s funding gap, as Americans broadly want to preserve benefits but remain resistant to the higher taxes or benefit changes that could be required to put the program on a more sustainable financial path.