In a new AARP survey of likely voters over age 50, 86 percent say leadership is a very important quality in a presidential candidate; 82 percent say having a plan for Social Security is a basic threshold for presidential leadership; and 83 percent say that it is very important that the government take action on Social Security.
The survey also shows that nearly 40 percent are dissatisfied with their retirement savings and 49 percent worry they won’t be able to achieve their financial goals over the next five years. Forty percent still don’t know for certain which party’s presidential candidate they’ll choose in the 2016 general election.
“Dissatisfaction with the level of retirement savings only increases the importance of presidential candidates taking a stand on Social Security,” said AARP Executive Vice President Nancy LeaMond. “If our leaders fail to act, future retirees could lose up to $10,000 per year in Social Security benefits.”
Late last year before the presidential primaries, AARP launched Take a Stand, a national accountability campaign demanding on behalf of all voters that presidential candidates take a stand on their plans to update Social Security.
“Laying out a plan to make Social Security financially sound and adequate is a test of how the candidates will lead,” said LeaMond. “With so many older voters undecided, candidates who fail to tell voters where they stand on Social Security do so at their own risk.”
For more information, visit www.2016takeastand.org. For complete results of AARP voter surveys, visit www.aarp.org/50plusvoter.
This article was adapted from information provided by AARP.