Tax records reveal a smaller Social Security reliance than many retirement surveys suggest.
Credit: draganab / Getty Images Key Takeaways
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Only 1 in 7 retirees rely on Social Security for at least 90% of their income, according to tax-linked data.
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Most retirees have multiple income sources, including pensions, savings, investments, and home equity, reducing Social Security’s role.
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Surveys often overstate retirees’ reliance on Social Security because many fail to report 401(k) and IRA withdrawals.
Many Retirees Say Social Security Is Their Main Lifeline
Retirees often report that Social Security is their main source of income. A 2025 Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies survey found 91% of retirees count Social Security as a source of income, and 53% name it their primary source.
Going a step further, a widely cited Senior Citizens League survey found that 39% of retirees say Social Security provides “the entirety” of their income.
But surveys and federal tax-linked records paint very different pictures of how many older Americans rely on the program for nearly all of their retirement income. Census Bureau researchers who matched survey responses to IRS tax records found the figure was much lower.
Why This Matters
Survey results can overstate how reliant retirees are on Social Security because many people fail to report other retirement income streams. Federal tax-linked records offer a clearer picture of how Americans actually fund retirement—and how much savings, pensions, and withdrawals still matter.
Tax Records Tell a Different Story
An Investopedia tabulation of the March 2025 Current Population Survey (CPS) shows 24% of Americans 65 and older told federal surveyors they received 90% or more of their household income from Social Security.
That figure matches the historical pattern: the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) “Income of the Population 55 or Older” report, last published in 2016, showed about one in four older adults at the 90% threshold.
But researchers have long known that income surveys, whether from outside groups or the Census Bureau, overcount older Americans’ reliance on Social Security. When Census Bureau researchers linked CPS respondents to their actual IRS tax filings and Social Security Administration benefit records, they found that retirees failed to report 401(k) and IRA withdrawals 46% of the time.
As a result, their analysis reached these conclusions:
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Just 14% of older Americans rely on Social Security for at least 90% of their income.
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22% rely on Social Security for 75% or more.
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For 42%, it represents at least 50% of their income.
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That means 58% rely on Social Security for less than half their income.
Story Continues
The underlying tax data for this analysis dates back to 2015 because linking Census responses to IRS and Social Security Administration records took years of interagency review. But more recent evidence suggests the corrected picture likely hasn’t changed much.
For instance, the Census Bureau’s National Experimental Wellbeing Statistics, which link survey responses to federal records through 2021, show a similar gap between what retirees report and what their records show.
Meanwhile, the share of older Americans telling Census surveyors they rely on Social Security for 90% or more of their income has barely changed—from 25% in 2015 to 24% in 2024, according to Investopedia’s analysis of CPS data.
Together, these points suggest that an up-to-date tax-linked correction to Census surveys isn’t likely to land far from the same 14% figure.
The Missing Income That Changes the Picture
One major issue is that retirees often fail to report certain types of retirement income in surveys, especially withdrawals from 401(k)s and IRAs.
The CPS was redesigned in 2014 to improve how retirement income gets measured, but the issue persisted. That’s one reason the Social Security Administration stopped publishing its annual income report in 2016.
Most retirees have more income sources than surveys often capture. Transamerica’s data show 45% of retirees draw income from 401(k)s, 403(b)s, or IRAs; 49% have other savings and investments; 40% still receive a pension; and 15% tap home equity.
When some of these sources go unreported, Social Security appears to make up a larger share of retirement income than it actually does.
The data also show major demographic differences. A 2025 Congressional Research Service analysis found reliance on Social Security roughly doubles between retirees ages 65 to 69 and those 80 and older. And in every age group, women rely more heavily on Social Security than men do.
Read the original article on Investopedia