PPC survey finds bipartisan support for Social Security changes in battleground states

A University of Maryland survey release says bipartisan majorities in 11 competitive states and 28 competitive U.S. House districts favor several ways to reduce Social Security’s budget shortfall, along with some options to expand benefits.

Congress has not agreed on a plan to prevent Social Security’s pending insolvency, according to the release. The Program for Public Consultation said the survey suggests voters across party lines support a mix of revenue increases, spending changes and benefit adjustments that could keep full benefits in place longer.

The release says the survey covered nearly 20,000 adults in competitive states and districts and is the sixth installment in PPC’s “Common Ground in the Battlegrounds?” series. The project is running in the lead-up to the November election and plans 15 surveys on more than 100 policy questions across 11 states and 28 House districts.

Among the proposals tested, the release says respondents backed subjecting wages above $400,000 to the payroll tax. The tax now does not apply to income over $185,000, according to the release. PPC said that proposal was favored by majorities of Democrats and Republicans in all surveyed states and districts and would reduce the budget shortfall by 61%.

It also said respondents favored gradually raising the payroll tax from 6.2% to 6.5%, a change the release says would reduce the shortfall by 15%. Another favored option would reduce benefits for the top 20% of lifetime earners, which the release says would cut the shortfall by 11%.

The release said a gradual increase in the full retirement age from 67 to 68 by 2033 also drew bipartisan majority support overall and would reduce the shortfall by 15%. It said majorities in Ohio and in Michigan’s 7th and 10th congressional districts opposed that change.

Two benefit-expansion ideas also drew support, according to the release. It said raising the minimum monthly benefit from $1,125 to $1,630, described as equal to 125% of the federal poverty line, would increase the shortfall by 8% and was favored by over two-thirds of both Democrats and Republicans. It said changing the formula for annual benefit increases to track goods and services older adults tend to buy would slightly increase benefits for all and raise the shortfall by 12%, with large bipartisan majorities in favor.

The release says the state and district surveys were fielded from May 27 to June 25, 2026, using 19,564 adults. It says response rates ranged from 7.1% to 9.0%, confidence intervals ranged from plus or minus 2.9% to 7.6%, and maximum weights ranged from 1.9 to 6.9. The national survey was fielded from Feb. 11 to 26, 2026, with 2,509 adults and a 7.6% response rate.

Steven Kull, director of PPC, said in the release that “majorities of Americans from both parties agree on taking steps that would solve the problem and extend Social Security's full benefits for decades.”

The release identifies PPC, the University of Maryland’s Civic Innovation Center and Voice of the People as project partners. It says none of the groups advocate policy positions or endorse candidates.

The release says PPC plans to publish 15 survey topics in total before the midterm elections, following earlier releases on artificial intelligence, housing, healthcare, low-income assistance and families and children.

Sources

• PR Newswire release: “Bipartisan majorities in the battlegrounds agree on how to prevent Social Security’s insolvency and preserve benefits”

Editorial note: This article was prepared with AI assistance and includes source attribution for reader review.