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A key policy position of the current US administration has been to review government funded programs in an effort to weed out waste, fraud and abuse. As a result, throughout the 2025 there have been updates to eligibility requirements for many assistance programs that retired Americans depend on, like Social Security and Medicare. This initially raised concerns that benefits could be reduced, cancelled or interrupted, and some of those concerns still linger.
These findings are a follow-up to a study conducted by S&P Global Market Intelligence 451 Research that asks retired and nearly retired survey respondents about their experiences accessing their benefits since the administration started implementing these changes.
Retirees have lingering concerns over fraud and benefit interruptions
Among survey respondents, over 90% of retirees use at least one government benefit program, with Medicare (86%) and Social Security (82%) being the most prominent. These high levels of participation demonstrate the ubiquity and importance of these programs, where usage cuts across income levels and most other demographic categories.
The administration’s review and revision of these programs and their benefit levels have been ongoing throughout 2025.
But when asked about their own benefits, more than half (51%) of respondents expressed being very or somewhat concerned that they would experience disruptions or reductions due to the proposed changes, which is in line with the Q2 results. Lower-income respondents (less than $75,000 per year; 56%) continue to have slightly greater levels of concern compared with higher-income respondents (more than $120,000 per year; 50%).
One of the major driving forces behind these reform efforts was the belief that these programs were rife with fraud and abuse. Retirees tend to agree with this assertion, as 67% say there is a “great deal” or “quite a bit” of fraud occurring within government benefit programs, which is a bit higher than Q2. This belief remains greatest among lower-income respondents (68%) compared with higher-income ones (66%), but that gap has narrowed. Interestingly, those most worried about benefit disruptions are also the ones most in favor of the revisions.
When asked how successful they think the administration’s changes to benefit programs will ultimately be, just 4% said the changes will result in “much less” fraud, with the largest group now saying they think the changes will lead to “no change in the amount of fraud” (34%). Another 26% say there will be “somewhat less” fraud. Both iterations of the data have shown a somewhat surprising level of skepticism among a group that largely believes a high level of fraud currently exists.
Smooth sailing: New identification requirements not causing disruptions
Some of the administration’s proposed changes have already gone into effect, including transitioning to digital payments and the adoption of new identity verification requirements. On this second point, 34% of respondents have already been through the identity verification process, with 80% of this group saying they did so online.
Importantly, 90% said it was very or somewhat easy to complete the verification process. This is a must for a demographic that often reports being less tech-savvy than other generations, who tend to be the ones designing and rolling out digital services like these. Ease of use, whether completing the process online or in-person, will continue to be crucial to minimizing disruptions and ensuring retirees can meet new and evolving program requirements.
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