Baby Boomer Voters Driven by Retirement Concerns

Nearly three-fourths (72%) believe they will have to delay retirement, and nearly two-thirds (65%) worry they will not have enough to retire. Half these voters (50%) do not think they will ever be able to retire. They overwhelmingly (59%) believe the recent economic downturn will force them to rely more on Social Security and Medicare.  

Anxiety about retirement security is a main driver for all voters over the age of 50. Nearly seven in ten (69%) retired voters 50 and over worry about prices rising faster than their incomes, and nearly half (48%) worry about having unaffordable health expenses, despite the relative security provided by Medicare. Only four in ten (42%) African-American voters over the age of 50 are confident that they will have enough money to live comfortably throughout retirement.  Hispanic voters age 50 and up overwhelmingly say the recent economic downturn negatively impacted their personal circumstances (84%) and will force them to rely more on Social Security and Medicare (69%).  

All voters age 50 and up want the candidates to better explain their plans for Social Security and Medicare. They think the candidates have not done a good job explaining their plans on Social Security (67%) and Medicare (63%). Voters in both parties say that more information on the candidates’ plans on Social Security (72%) and Medicare (70%) will help them determine their vote on election day.  

Respondents think the next president and Congress need to strengthen Social Security (91%) and Medicare (88%). They also overwhelmingly (91%) think that these issues are too big for either party to fix alone and that the issues require Republicans and Democrats to come together.  

Complete results of AARP voter surveys are available here.