CFP Board survey: Social Security, Medicare fears top client concerns

Clients are asking their financial planners whether Social Security and Medicare will still be there when they need them, with many also drawing down their own retirement savings to cope with rising costs according to a new CFP Board survey.

Seventy-eight percent of certified financial planners said the long-term viability of Social Security has been an important topic in client conversations over the past 12 months, according to the new CFP Board poll released this week. A slightly lower but still significant 73% majority said the same about Medicare.

Only three topics ranked higher with clients: healthcare costs and retirement plans, each cited by 88% of planners, and tax policy, cited by 84%.

Retirement savings bear the brunt of affordability pressure

Half of the planners surveyed said they had seen at least one client make a decision in the past year that eased cost pressure at the expense of long-term security.

• The most common was withdrawing from retirement accounts early, reported by 29% of respondents.
• 23% saw clients put off needed estate planning updates.
• 20% saw clients cut or stop retirement contributions.
• 18% saw clients take on high-interest debt to cover expenses.
• Smaller shares saw clients sell investments at a loss (10%) or let life, health or disability coverage lapse (9%).

Plan-level industry data point the same way. In its most recent How America Saves report, Vanguard found 6% of its retirement plan participants initiated a 401(k) hardship withdrawal in 2025, up from 5% in 2024 and a pre-pandemic average of 2%.

The 2026 Social Security and Medicare trustees reports projects that the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance trust fund will be depleted in the fourth quarter of 2032, while the Medicare Hospital Insurance trust fund is projected to be depleted in the second quarter of 2033.

Read more: Social Security bill offers blue-collar workers full benefits at 60

Affordability angst tinges upbeat outlook

The survey shows a split between how clients feel overall and how they feel about costs. Sixty-nine percent of planners said client concerns about affordability have grown over the past 12 months; 17% said those concerns had increased a lot, and only 3% reported a decline.

Still, 68% of respondents described their clients' overall financial outlook as positive, and fewer than 1 in 10 described it as negative.

The cost anxiety is aimed more at the future than the present. Sixty percent of planners said clients are concerned about affording long-term goals and needs, compared with 53% for day-to-day costs.

Sixty-one percent said clients worry that at least one financial goal is now out of reach. The goals seen as most out of reach include buying a home (34%), achieving financial independence (27%), and affording healthcare (23%).

Battening down the hatches

Eighty-five percent of CFP holders said they are taking specific steps to help clients handle affordability pressures without giving up long-term goals. Just over half of planners said they were stress-testing financial plans against a recessionary scenario (54%), and an equal number said they were encouraging clients to build or reinforce clients' emergency funds to a specific target.

Approximately one-third of planners in the survey said they were telling clients to revise retirement contribution rates rather than stopping altogether (34%); step up the pace in paying down debt (33%); and pause or dial down spending on non-essentials (32%).

Many clients have already acted. About three-quarters of planners said clients have taken or considered financial steps because of cost concerns, including:

• Cutting discretionary spending (46%)
• Updating retirement plans (40%)
• Delaying a major purchase such as a home or car (32%)
• Paying down debt (31%)

The survey also took a read of CFP holders' outlook on the upcoming midterms' potential impact. On that front, 74% said they expect interest rates to stay largely unchanged after the election, and roughly three-fifths expected no impact on the stock market (59%) or the US economy (57%).