Nearly half of older American workers expect to rely mainly on Social Security for income in retirement, according to a new report.
To many in the retirement industry, that is a worrisome statistic.
Social Security "is not meant to be your only source of income in retirement," the federal Social Security Administration cautions on its website. On average, the retirement trust fund will replace only about 40% of the money earned in working years.
Retirement experts urge Americans to fund their retirement through multiple sources: Social Security, yes, but also retirement savings, investments, other income sources and perhaps a workplace pension.
"We would not recommend that anybody rely completely on Social Security for their retirement income," said Jessica Johnston, senior strategist for economic wellbeing at the nonprofit National Council on Aging. "It's more than likely to not be sufficient."
Few younger workers think they will rely primarily on Social Security in retirement, if they think about retirement at all. As they approach retirement, however, those expectations change.
The 2026 Retirement Trend Report from NFP, a property and casualty broker and benefits consultant, shows a gradual evolution in retirement expectations as workers age.
Only 12% of workers under age 35 said they expect Social Security to be their main source of income in retirement, NFP reports. But the figure rises to 22% for workers ages 35 to 54, and to 41% for workers 55 and older.
Another retirement report, the 2026 Retirement Confidence Survey from the Employee Benefit Research Institute, shows a similar trend: As workers age, Social Security looms ever larger in their retirement plans.
Among workers ages 25-34, only 32% said they expect Social Security to be a major source of retirement income. For workers ages 55-64, the figure rises to 44%.
The EBRI report draws from surveys of more than 2,000 workers and retirees in January 2026.
Some American retirees can rely on Social Security for income and get by, retirement experts say. But nearly half? Maybe not.
"That's way too high," said Craig Copeland, director of wealth benefits research at EBRI. "I'm talking maybe 10% could do it," he said, and "those people would not be living a good retirement."
Within the retirement planning industry, debate rages about how large a role Social Security should play in an American worker's retirement plans.
Financial planners urge workers to save hundreds of thousands of dollars, even millions, to supplement Social Security in retirement.
One rule of thumb suggests workers aim to save 10 times their annual income in a retirement account.
Financial services firms publish retirement "magic numbers," derived from surveys that ask Americans how much money they think they would need for a comfortable retirement. One recent report put the magic number at $1.2 million.
American workers read those reports. The idea of a million-dollar retirement magic number can feed retirement fears.
"It scares people when they see, 'You need $2 million to retire,'" said Steve Jans, wealth management practice leader at NFP.
In the NFP report, 69% of workers said they lacked confidence in their ability to achieve a comfortable retirement. More than 70% said their retirement savings were "off track."
The findings, released in July, draw from a survey of 1,000 working adults who were involved in financial planning decisions for their households.
On the other side of the retirement planning debate, experts stress that there's no need for most workers to save a seven-figure sum for retirement. They note that millions of Americans retire with little or no savings, and most of them seem to be doing fine.
The typical retiree has only $126,000 in household savings, according to a 2025 retirement survey from the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies. Other surveys suggest only about half of retirees have any retirement savings.
Nonetheless, surveys show that most retirees are financially stable.
In an April 2026 Gallup poll, 82% of retirees said they have enough money to live in comfort. In the 2025 federal Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking, 83% of Americans over 60 said they were either "living comfortably" or "doing okay" financially.
The Gallup poll illustrates how heavily retirees rely on Social Security. When the pollster asked retirees to name their major sources of income, 62% said Social Security. Only 27% cited retirement savings.
"When I get out in the rural areas of America ... Social Security is a major income source for retirees, and they seem to make it work for them," Jans said.
"You shouldn't expect [Social Security] to be your primary source of income," he said. "But the reality is, it is for many people."
While retirement experts may not recommend retirees rely on Social Security alone, some retirees can probably depend on the trust fund more than others.
Lower-income Americans, in particular, can expect Social Security to replace a large share of the income they earned in their working years.
Social Security benefits are progressive. The lower your income, the more of it you get back in your Social Security checks.
Social Security "replaces" 90% of your income up to $1,286 a month. The replacement rate drops to 32% for incomes between $1,286 and $7,749, and to 15% for incomes above $7,749.
Other factors might allow a retiree to lean more heavily on Social Security in retirement. Homeowners who have repaid a mortgage in full, for example, might have lower monthly expenses.
"If you are a lower earner who also owned a house and you're not paying a mortgage anymore, you could probably get by mainly on Social Security," said Copeland of EBRI.
None of that, however, guarantees lower-income Americans will live a comfortable retirement if they rely on Social Security.
"We know that there are 9 million older adults that have an annual income of less than $20,000," said Johnston of NCOA. "We hear all the time about older adults who are making difficult choices about whether to pay rent, whether to pay for medication."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Older workers say Social Security is their retirement plan. Is that OK?