Economists at the Economic Policy Institute have released a study saying that reliance on Social Security is growing. Christian Weller and Edward N. Wolff authored the study "Retirement Income: The Crucial Role of Social Security." Wolff said there are many factors to consider when looking at Social Security:

[Wolff]: We need to keep in mind that we both need to address the short falls in the private pension sector as well as Social Security solvency.

The study says "middle-income households headed by someone between the ages of 56-64 retirement preparedness improved by nearly 30 percent between 1989 and 2001." The reason cited by Wolff and Weller was that Social Security wealth grew by $77,600 - that's more then the growth of private pensions and other wealth combined.