# Americans fear Social Security and Medicare will fail

> A CFP Board survey finds rising costs are pushing clients toward risky financial moves ahead of the midterm elections.
- Title: Americans fear Social Security and Medicare will fail · CNBC
- Summary: A CFP Board survey finds rising costs are pushing clients toward risky financial moves ahead of the midterm elections. Seventy-eight percent of financial…
- Keywords: social security, medicare, cfp board, financial advisors, retirement planning, affordability, inflation, business, finance, Americans, fear, Social
- Source: CNBC — https://cnbc.com/2026/09/23/social-security-medicare-affordability-cfp-survey.html
- Author: Lorie Konish
- Published: 2026-09-23T15:18:45+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: social security, medicare, cfp board, financial advisors, retirement planning, affordability, inflation, business, finance
## Advisors see clients in crisis mode
Half of four hundred forty certified financial planners surveyed by the CFP Board said clients have taken actions to manage costs that could put retirement plans at risk.
## Affordability fears are spreading fast
In the past twelve months, sixty-nine percent of clients became more concerned about affordability. Sixty percent worry about long-term goals and fifty-three percent about day-to-day expenses.
## Social Security viability is top worry
Seventy-eight percent of CFP professionals say clients worry about Social Security's long-term viability. The program provides monthly benefits to more than seventy-five million Americans.
## Medicare trust fund also in trouble
Seventy-three percent of CFP professionals report clients have similar concerns about Medicare, which faces looming depletion of its hospital insurance trust fund that funds Medicare Part A services.
## Clients making risky money moves
Worried clients are taking early withdrawals from retirement accounts, twenty-nine percent; reducing or eliminating retirement contributions, twenty percent; or taking on high-interest debt, eighteen percent.
## Advisors recommend stress testing plans
Eighty-five percent of CFP professionals recommend preserving long-term goals. Fifty-four percent suggest stress testing for recession and building emergency savings. Thirty-four percent recommend reevaluating contribution rates.

> If you have to make some plan changes, the time to make those changes in your plan is today, and not five months before you retire.
## Two-thirds expect to revise client plans
About two-thirds of CFP professionals expect to revise clients' plans over the next year, partly prompted by the shift in affordability concerns and potential policy changes.
## Key takeaway

Seventy-eight percent of financial advisors report clients worry Social Security will not survive, while affordability pressures push many toward decisions that threaten retirement security.