Polling points to three closely connected concerns among older voters: protecting Social Security, preserving Medicare, and managing the cost of living. But there is no single, all-purpose ranking. The results vary by survey, age group, location, date, and whether people were asked what matters in their vote or what Congress should prioritize.
What older voters say matters in elections
In AARP’s November 2024 post-election survey, a majority of voters age 50 and older said a personal economic issue—inflation, jobs and the economy, or Social Security—was the most important issue in determining their vote. The survey also identified immigration and border security, jobs and the economy, and threats to democracy among the prominent issues for older voters. Social Security and economic pressures therefore mattered alongside, rather than necessarily above, other major concerns.
AARP commissioned the poll from Fabrizio Ward and Impact Research. It interviewed 2,348 likely voters in targeted congressional districts, including 1,200 voters age 50-plus, from November 6–10, 2024. Interviews used landline, cellphone, and SMS-to-web methods; the margin of sampling error for the 50-plus sample was ±2.9 percentage points. The findings describe that poll’s respondents and districts, not every older voter nationally.
Social Security and Medicare remain highly salient
In AARP’s 2025 public-opinion survey, 90% of respondents age 50-plus said Social Security was important in deciding their vote, and 86% said the same about Medicare. These are measures of whether each issue is important, not a forced-choice contest asking respondents to select one top concern from a list. The reported figures do not establish that either program outranks every other issue.
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The survey’s reported percentages are useful indicators of salience, but its methodological details are not established here. Treat the figures as findings from AARP’s 2025 survey rather than as a precisely comparable extension of the 2024 election poll.
Affordability includes more than one pressure
AARP’s 2026 poll of Arizona voters age 50-plus illustrates how several kinds of affordability can register at once. On the measure of being “extremely or very important” in deciding how to vote, 83% named Social Security, 81% named rising prices for everyday essentials, 79% named utility costs, and 79% named health care costs. Separately, 37% ranked rising prices and affordability among their top two voting issues.
These results are specific to Arizona voters, not a national estimate. They also distinguish broad affordability from individual household expenses: grocery and other everyday prices, utilities, and health care costs are related, but they are not interchangeable measures. The available summary does not establish the poll’s exact field dates or methodology.
What surveys say about Congress’s priorities
Some polling asks not what will shape a person’s vote, but what Congress should do to support an aging population. In West Health-Gallup’s 2024 survey, 68% of respondents overall said safeguarding Social Security and Medicare should be Congress’s highest priority for that purpose. The share was 79% among adults ages 50–64 and 87% among adults age 65 and older. Lowering health care costs was the highest priority named by 65% overall.
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Random freezes, missing sound and display glitches usually trace back to one bad driver. Find and replace yours safely.Free scan · under a minuteThose responses measure preferences for congressional action on aging, not election vote-choice importance. The age breakdown also shows why “older voters” should not automatically be treated as a single group: views can differ between adults approaching retirement and those already 65 or older.
How older adults’ priorities fit the wider public
A Pew Research Center survey of U.S. adults conducted January 16–21, 2024, found older adults particularly likely to prioritize ensuring Social Security is financially sound. At the same time, about six-in-ten adults across age groups rated reducing health care costs as a top priority. That finding suggests health-cost concerns extend beyond older adults, while the relative emphasis on Social Security’s financial soundness is more pronounced among older respondents.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How to read the poll numbers
- Check the age band. Findings for voters age 50-plus are not identical to findings for adults 65-plus.
- Check the geography. A targeted-district survey or Arizona poll should not be presented as a national ranking.
- Check the question. “Top issue,” “important in deciding a vote,” and “Congress’s highest priority” capture different judgments.
- Check what affordability means. Everyday prices, utilities, health care, and prescription costs may be asked about separately.
- Check the date. A 2024 election survey, 2025 opinion survey, and 2026 state poll reflect different moments and contexts.
Taken together, the polls support a clear but bounded conclusion: Social Security and Medicare are highly salient to many older adults, and everyday as well as health-related costs are also central concerns. They do not provide one harmonized national ranking that proves these issues always outrank immigration, democracy, or broader economic concerns.
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