Alliance for Retired Americans’ Rich Fiesta on Seniors, Social Security and November

Rich Fiesta, Executive Director of the Alliance for Retired Americans, joined the America's Work Force Union Podcast to share findings from a new survey of 1,000 likely voters age 60 and above, and the picture it paints is one of a constituency that is angry, worried and shifting.

Older voters, who tend to be among the most reliable and consistent in their voting patterns, have moved three to four points toward Democratic candidates compared to a year ago, according to the survey. The move is driven by affordability fears, deep concern about the future of Social Security and Medicare and a sense that the current U.S. Congress is spending money in the wrong places.

Without legislative action to raise the Social Security earnings cap, trust fund depletion in 2032 or 2033 will trigger an automatic 25 percent cut to monthly benefits, Fiesta said, adding that Congress has the tools to avoid it.

• A new Alliance for Retired Americans survey of 1,000 likely voters age 60 and above — including an oversample in 39 swing U.S. House districts — shows a three to four point shift toward Democratic candidates compared to a year ago. Reasons cited include economic anxiety, rising costs at the grocery store and gas pump and deep concern about Social Security and Medicare. In a midterm election in which older voters often make up a larger share of the electorate than in presidential years, Fiesta said the shift could determine control of the U.S. House.
• Social Security's trust funds are on track to be depleted by 2032 or 2033, triggering an automatic 25 percent cut to monthly benefits for all recipients. It’s a crisis the Alliance for Retired Americans argues can be avoided by scrapping the artificial earnings cap, currently set at $184,500, which allows the top 5 percent to 6 percent of earners to stop paying into Social Security mid-year, while the remaining 95 percent continue to contribute every pay period.
• The Alliance for Retired Americans maintains a complete congressional voting record database on its website from 2001 through 2025. It allows voters to review every member of Congress's record on Social Security, Medicare, prescription drug costs, pension protections and worker rights ahead of the November elections.

Older Voters Are Unhappy and Paying Attention

Rich Fiesta brought fresh polling to America's Work Force Union Podcast this month, and the findings carry real weight heading into November. A new Alliance for Retired Americans survey of 1,000 likely voters age 60 and above, with an oversample in 39 competitive U.S. House districts, shows this reliably consistent voting bloc shifting three to four points toward Democratic candidates compared to a year ago. That may sound modest, but in a midterm election where older voters often make up a disproportionately large share of the electorate, Fiesta said it could be decisive.

Factors influencing the shift include fixed incomes being squeezed by rising prices at the grocery store and gas pump, a Congress perceived as spending money in the wrong places and deep anxiety about what is coming for Social Security and Medicare.

A Social Security Collision Course in Six Years

The most urgent number Fiesta raised is not a polling figure, but a deadline. Without legislative action, Social Security trust funds are forecasted to be depleted by 2032 or 2033, triggering an automatic 25 percent cut to monthly benefits. For retirees on fixed incomes already struggling with inflation, this is a financial crisis waiting to happen, he said.

The solution, Fiesta said, is to scrap the earnings cap. Currently set at $184,500, the cap allows the top 5 percent to 6 percent of earners to stop contributing to Social Security partway through the year, while the remaining 95 percent of workers pay in every pay period. Legislation to raise or eliminate that cap is already in both the House and Senate. The Alliance for Retired Americans supports multiple bills. What has been missing, Fiesta said, is the political will by members of Congress to act.

Union Households and the Path to November

Fiesta noted that both parties recognize what older voters and union households represent in a midterm election cycle, and the polling confirms the opportunity. Gerrymandering remains a structural headwind, including recent court-sanctioned moves, but Fiesta said the data suggests it is not enough to prevent Democrats from taking control of the U.S. House if the current trend holds.

Older voters want candidates who will protect Social Security and Medicare, lower healthcare and prescription drug costs, defend pensions and focus on kitchen table economic issues. The Alliance for Retired Americans' full congressional voting record database, tracking every key vote from 2001 through 2025, is available at retiredamericans.org for voters who want to see where their representatives actually stand.

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