(CNN) - Social Security reform has taken center stage in the 2012 presidential debate and one in five say the system is unconstitutional, but a new CNN/ORC International poll shows a majority of Americans have good feelings about the program.
Eight in 10 Americans think Social Security has been good for the country, with 70 percent of young adults agreeing and almost nine in 10 senior citizens saying the same.
Full results (pdf)
Though large majorities of both parties believe the 75-year-old program instituted by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt has been good, about one-third of all Republicans think it is unconstitutional.
The campaign trail has been flooded with proposals on how to reform Social Security, and while most candidates agree the system is secure for senior citizens, the big question is what will happen to young Americans who currently pay into the fund when they're ready to retire.
Most under 35 say Social Security has had no effect on their lives, but the number that say the system has been bad for them is roughly the same as the number that think it has benefitted them personally-18 to 20 percent.
The adults who agree that Social Security has been good for them personally rises with age - 85 percent of seniors say the system has benefitted them.
But Americans agree Social Security is facing a crisis or major problem. Almost one in five Americans say it is in a state of crisis and another half say it faces major problems.
Roughly half the nation supports one proposed solution, creating a private savings account that citizens could pay into - 52 percent favor allowing workers to invest part of their Social Security taxes in stocks or bonds and 46 percent oppose that change.
The CNN poll was conducted by ORC International by telephone from September 23-25, among 1,010 adult Americans. The survey's overall sampling error is plus or minus three percentage points.
– CNN's Rebecca Stewart contributed to this report.
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