--- title: Social Security Quiz Shows Just How Little People Know About Retirement Benefits description: As retirement in the U.S. becomes more expensive and uncertain, most pre-retirement Americans don't know the basics of Social Security. authors: - name: Mary Ellen Cagnassola role: Reporter url: https://money.com/author/mary-ellen-cagnassola/ bio: Mary Ellen (M.E.) Cagnassola is a former Money reporter specializing in Social Security and retirement coverage, with a focus on making complex policy accessible to readers. education: Rutgers University, BA Journalism at_money_since: 2021 articles: 205 covers: - Retirement - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Economy and Politics - Education - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Pets - Professional Services - Shopping - Taxes former_staff: true editors: - name: Julia Glum role: Managing Editor url: https://money.com/author/julia-glum/ bio: Julia Glum joined Money in 2018 and specializes in covering financial trends that affect everyday Americans' wallets. She also writes Dollar Scholar, a weekly newsletter that teaches young adults how to navigate the messy world of money. education: University of Florida at_money_since: 2018 articles: 453 covers: - Retirement - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Professional Services - Shopping - Taxes - Technology also_seen_in: - Newsweek - International Business Times - CBS News - Good Morning America - WUSA9 - Pix 11 - The New York Times - Mashable - The Washington Post - CNBC - Politico social: - https://x.com/superjulia - https://www.linkedin.com/in/julia-glum published: '2023-05-03T19:11:25.000Z' modified: '2023-05-03T19:11:25.000Z' section: Retirement tags: - News word_count: 469 canonical: https://money.com/social-security-quiz-retirement-benefits/ type: NewsArticle source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Old couple standing on top of calendar while looking at map](https://img.money.com/2023/05/News-Retirement-quiz.jpg) How much do pre-retirement Americans know about the basics of Social Security? Not much, according to a new report. Life insurance company MassMutual recently gave an online Social Security [quiz](https://www.massmutual.com/global/media/shared/doc/2023_security_retirement_benefits_report.pdf) to 1,500 Americans approaching retirement, and most didn’t pass or barely passed. Not only did this year's respondents score lower than those in 2022, close to a third said they don’t even know how much money they’ll need to sustain them in their retirement years. ## Long-Term Care Insurance allows you to know that you and your loved ones are financially protected as you age ### Regular health insurance, disability insurance, and Medicare are not designed to cover long-term care costs. Get Long-Term Care Insurance today - select your state to get a free quote. [View Rates](https://money.com/pr/b569008ea8c5?ap_referrer=%2Fsocial-security-quiz-retirement-benefits%2F&url=%2Flong-term-care-insurance%2Flp%2Fbest-long-term-care-insurance-money) ## What the data says Most pre-retirees — defined in this poll as workers age 55-65 — need to hit the books when it comes to their retirement and Social Security knowledge: More than a third (35%) failed the 13-question test, and another 34% passed by the skin of their teeth with a "D" grade. - While 55% of pre-retirees knew that Social Security benefits could be reduced by 2035, 42% plan to rely on them as their primary income source in [retirement](https://money.com/retiring-in-2023/). - About the same percentage said they don’t know how much of their [retirement income](https://money.com/retirement-income-sources/) will come from Social Security. - Roughly a quarter of pre-retirees said they think their income can last them 10 or fewer years in retirement. - At the same time, when asked how much money on top of Social Security they think they’ll need to [retire comfortably](https://money.com/comfortable-retirement-cost-expectations/), 28% said they don’t know. A quarter estimated they’ll need an additional $1 million to bankroll retirement. ## Keep in mind Respondents did score well in one area: 84% correctly said their benefits will be reduced if they [claim](https://money.com/claiming-social-security-early-can-be-a-savvy-move-in-a-down-market/) them before [full retirement age](https://money.com/wait-collect-social-security-extra-benefits/). That's down from 89% last year. And even fewer (77%) knew that if they receive benefits prior to full retirement and keep working, their benefits may be reduced according to their earnings. ## Get the care you will need after age 65 ### 70% of people 65+ will require long-term care. A Long-Term Care Insurance policy makes the process easier by helping you pay for the care you need in your golden years. [View Rates](https://money.com/pr/k696436a32ba?ap_referrer=%2Fsocial-security-quiz-retirement-benefits%2F&url=%2Flong-term-care-insurance%2Flp%2Fabm-pub-best-ltc-insurance) ## The takeaway Retiring in the U.S. is considerably more uncertain and expensive than in years past — a 2020 [study](https://money.com/social-security-pay-more-than-expected/) found that over 30% of workers across age groups don’t expect to receive any Social Security benefits. What’s more, [recent reports](https://money.com/social-security-run-dry-report/) predict that Social Security will run dry, and be unable to pay out 100% of benefits, a year earlier than previously estimated. But avoiding the issue won’t help pre-retirees navigate their post-work finances. Americans nearing retirement need to have a plan in place and know where their income is going to come from, according to MassMutual. “There are two key things to remember when it comes to retirement: Knowledge is power, and planning is powerful,” Paul LaPiana, head of product at MassMutual, said in a [news release](https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230502005050/en/Nearly-70-of-near-retirees-failed-or-barely-passed-a-basic-Social-Security-quiz-from-MassMutual). “Make decisions on purpose and not by accident.” ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/social-security-quiz-retirement-benefits/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Retirement", "item": "https://money.com/retirement/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Social Security", "item": "https://money.com/social-security/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Social Security Quiz Shows Just How Little People Know About Retirement Benefits" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/social-security-quiz-retirement-benefits/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/social-security-quiz-retirement-benefits/", "name": "Social Security Quiz Shows Just How Little People Know About Retirement Benefits", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2023-05-03T19:11:25.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/social-security-quiz-retirement-benefits/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/social-security-quiz-retirement-benefits/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2023-05-03T19:11:25.000Z" }, { "@type": "NewsArticle", "headline": "Social Security Quiz Shows Just How Little People Know About Retirement Benefits", "articleSection": "Retirement", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2023/05/News-Retirement-quiz.jpg", "width": 2880, "height": 1920, "caption": "News-Retirement-quiz" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mary Ellen Cagnassola", "url": "https://money.com/author/mary-ellen-cagnassola/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/mary-ellen-cagnassola/#author", "description": "Mary Ellen (M.E.) 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