Social Security (p. 2)

ABC News/Washington Post Poll. March 10-13, 2011. N=1,005 adults nationwide. Margin of error ± 3.5.

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"Now thinking about the Social Security system that mainly provides retirement income for senior citizens: If changes are not made, do you think the Social Security system is heading for a crisis down the road, or not?"
In 2005, this phrase omitted: "Now thinking about the Social Security system that mainly provides retirement income for senior citizens,"

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3/10-13/11

3/10-13/05

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"I'm going to mention changes some leaders have proposed for Social Security. Please tell me if you support or oppose each one. . . ."

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"Increasing the Social Security tax rate"

3/10-13/11

3/10-13/05

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"Collecting Social Security taxes on all the money a worker earns, rather than taxing only up to about $107,000 of annual income"
2005: Collecting Social Security taxes on all the money a worker earns, rather than taxing only up to the first $90,000 of annual income"

3/10-13/11

3/10-13/05

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"Raising the retirement age to receive full Social Security benefits to 68, instead of the current 67"

3/10-13/11

3/10-13/05

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"Further reducing the benefits paid to people who retire early. For instance, people who retire at age 62 would get 63% of their full benefits, rather than the current 70%"

3/10-13/11

3/10-13/05

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"Changing the way Social Security benefits are calculated so that benefits increase at a slower rate than they would under the current formula" Asked of half the sample (Form A)

3/10-13/11

3/10-13/05

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"Reducing guaranteed benefits for future retirees" Asked of half the sample (Form B)

3/10-13/11

3/10-13/05

AP-CNBC Poll conducted by GfK Roper Public Affairs & Corporate Communications. Nov. 18-22, 2010. N=1,000 adults nationwide. Margin of error ± 4.3.

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"As you may know, there is a cap on how much people have to pay in Social Security taxes each year, so that once people earn over a certain amount, currently just under $107,000, they don't have to pay any additional Social Security taxes. That's in part because the benefits that people can get from Social Security after retirement are also capped. Do you think that cap should be INCREASED so that higher-income earners pay more in Social Security taxes, even if they don't get more benefits after retirement, or STAY THE SAME, so that higher-income earners don't pay more in Social Security taxes?"

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11/18-22/10

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"Please tell me if you would favor, oppose or neither favor nor oppose raising the age at which people can retire and receive their full benefits from Social Security to age 69?"

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11/18-22/10

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"What if that increase in the age at which people can retire and receive their full benefits were phased in over 65 years, so that people aged 4 today would be the first ones who would have to wait until age 69 to receive their full Social Security benefits? In that case, would you favor, oppose or neither favor nor oppose raising the age at which people can retire and receive their full benefits from Social Security to age 69?"

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11/18-22/10

NBC News/Wall Street Journal Poll conducted by the polling organizations of Peter Hart (D) and Bill McInturff (R). Nov. 11-15, 2010. N=1,000 adults nationwide. Margin of error ± 3.1.

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"How comfortable are you with a proposal to gradually increase the Social Security retirement age over the next sixty years to age 69 in order to reduce the federal deficit? Are you very comfortable, somewhat comfortable, somewhat uncomfortable, or not comfortable at all?"

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11/11-15/10

Kaiser Family Foundation Kaiser Health Tracking Poll. Oct. 5-10, 2010. N=1,202 adults nationwide. Margin of error ± 3.

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"Overall, which party, the Democrats or the Republicans, do you trust to do a better job handling Social Security going forward?" Options rotated

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10/5-10/10

USA Today/Gallup Poll. Sept. 13-16, 2010. N=1,019 adults nationwide. Margin of error ± 4.

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"Now I'd like to ask you about the major entitlement programs the government is committed to, including Social Security and Medicare. Do you think the cost of these programs will create major economic problems for the U.S. in the next 25 years if no changes are made to them, or not?"

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9/13-16/10

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"If the cost of major entitlement programs does create major economic problems for the U.S., do you think the government should or should not do each of the following to deal with the situation? How about [see below]?"

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"Raise taxes"

9/13-16/10

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"Cut benefits"

9/13-16/10

Pew Research/National Journal Congressional Connection Poll, sponsored by the Society for Human Resource Management. Sept. 9-12, 2010. N=1,001 adults nationwide. Margin of error ± 4.

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"As you may know, there is a current proposal that would allow younger workers to invest a portion of their Social Security taxes in retirement accounts of their choice, which might include stocks, bonds or mutual funds, and provide either a lower or higher benefit than Social Security does now. Generally, do you favor or oppose this proposal?"

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9/9-12/10

CNN/Opinion Research Corporation Poll. Aug. 6-10, 2010. Adults nationwide.

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"Do you think the Social Security system will be able to continue to pay you full benefits, or do you think there will eventually be cuts in your benefits?" N=339 RETIRED adults, MoE ± 5.5

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8/6-10/10

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"Do you think the Social Security system will be able to pay you a benefit when you retire?" N=670 NON-retired adults, MoE ± 4 overall, ± 5.5 for 18-49 and 50 & older groups

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ALL non-retired

18-49 years of age

50 & older

Bloomberg Poll conducted by Selzer & Co. March 19-22, 2010. N=1,002 adults nationwide. MoE ± 3.1.

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"I'm going to mention some general approaches that could be considered to help decrease the deficit, some of which may mean a sacrifice for you and your household. For each, please tell me if you think this approach should be strongly considered, just considered, or taken off the table. . . ."

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"Remove the cap on the Social Security tax so that wage-earners who make more than $107,000 a year continue to pay into Social Security"

3/19-22/10

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"Reduce annual cost-of-living increases for Social Security participants"

3/19-22/10

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"Here are some topical issues for which I'd like to get your opinion. For each statement I read, please tell me if this is something with which you strongly agree, mostly agree, mostly disagree, or strongly disagree. Government-run programs such as Social Security and Medicare should be privatized."

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3/19-22/10

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"Critics of the Obama administration have used the word 'socialism' to talk about some proposed government programs. For each of the following government programs or policies, please tell me if you think it is definitely a form of socialism, sort of like socialism, or not socialism. . . ."

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"Social Security"

3/19-22/10

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"Expansion of Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security"

3/19-22/10

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ABC News/Washington Post Poll. Feb. 19-22, 2009. N=1,001 adults nationwide.

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"How confident are you the Social Security system will be able to pay your full benefits throughout your retirement: very confident, somewhat confident, not so confident or not confident at all?" Asked of half the sample

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2/19-22/09

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CBS News Poll. Oct. 12-16, 2007. N=1,282 adults nationwide. MoE ± 3.

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"Which of the following do you think best describes the financial situation of Social Security today? It is in crisis. It is in serious trouble, but not in crisis. It is in some trouble. OR, It is not really in trouble at all."

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10/12-16/07

CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll. July 22-24, 2005. N=1,006 adults nationwide. MoE ± 3.

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"Based on what you have heard or read, in general, do you approve or disapprove of George W. Bush's approach to addressing the Social Security system?"

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7/22-24/05

3/18-20/05

2/4-6/05

CBS News/New York Times Poll. June 10-15, 2005. N=1,111 adults nationwide. MoE ± 3.

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"Do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling Social Security?"

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Approve

Disapprove

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"Do you have confidence in George W. Bush's ability to make the right decisions about Social Security, or are you uneasy about his approach?"

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Confident

Uneasy

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"Which of the following do you think best describes the financial situation of Social Security today? It is in crisis. It is in serious trouble, but not in crisis. It is in some trouble. OR, It is not really in trouble at all."

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"Do you think the Social Security system will have the money available to provide the benefits you expect for your retirement?"

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"Regardless of how you usually vote, do you think the Republican Party or the Democratic Party is more likely to make the right decisions about Social Security?"

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"On the whole, do you think it should or should not be the government's responsibility to provide a decent standard of living for the elderly?" Form A (N=588)

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"Some people have suggested allowing individuals to invest portions of their Social Security taxes on their own, which might allow them to make more money for their retirement, but would involve greater risk. Do you think allowing individuals to invest a portion of their Social Security taxes on their own is a good idea or a bad idea?" Form C (N=562)

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"Some people have suggested allowing individuals to invest a portion of their Social Security taxes on their own into a small number of authorized investment funds, which might allow them to make more money for their retirement, but would involve greater risk. Do you think this is a good idea or a bad idea?" Form D (N=549)

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"What effect do you think allowing individuals to invest a portion of their Social Security taxes on their own would have on the financial situation of the Social Security program itself? Would it make the program's financial situation better, make it worse, or would it not have much impact on the Social Security program's financial situation?"

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"Currently, people pay Social Security taxes only on the first $90,000 of their annual income. If it were necessary to keep the Social Security program paying benefits as it does now, would you favor or oppose increasing the amount of income that is subject to Social Security taxes?"

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"If it were necessary to keep the Social Security program paying benefits as it does now, would you favor or oppose raising the age at which a person can retire and receive full Social Security benefits?"

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"If it were necessary to keep the Social Security program paying benefits as it does now, would you favor or oppose increasing the Social Security tax rate?"

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"What if the government decided to address Social Security's financial problems by having future Social Security benefits grow more slowly than they do now for middle‑ and high‑income people, while allowing benefits to grow as scheduled for low-income people? Would that be acceptable or not acceptable?"

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"From what you know, are the problems with the Social Security system so serious they must be fixed right now; OR serious, but do not need to be fixed for another ten or fifteen years; OR not very serious at all?"

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"President Bush has proposed some specific changes to Social Security. He proposes that future increases in Social Security benefits would be smaller for most Americans, but people with the lowest incomes would continue receiving increases in their benefits as they do now. People would be offered the option of investing some of their Social Security taxes in personal accounts. Do you think, in general, this plan for Social Security is a good idea or a bad idea?"

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"Do you expect to get back more money than you've contributed to Social Security, less money than you contributed, or about the same amount of money?"

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"If people are allowed to invest some of their Social Security money on their own, which do you think is most likely to happen: most people will make profits on the Social Security money they invest on their own, most people will suffer losses, or most people will break even?"

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ABC News/Washington Post Poll. June 2-5, 2005. N=1,002 adults nationwide. MoE ± 3.

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"Do you approve or disapprove of the way Bush is handling Social Security?"

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6/2-5/05

4/21-24/05

3/10-13/05

1/12-16/05

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"Would you support or oppose a plan in which people who chose to could invest some of their Social Security contributions in the stock market?"

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6/2-5/05

4/21-24/05

3/10-13/05

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"Based on what you know about Bush's proposals, do you think they would or would not improve the long-term financial stability of the Social Security system?"

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6/2-5/05

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"If a system were put in place that reduced the rate of growth in guaranteed benefits, but allowed a stock-market option for some Social Security contributions, do you think that would increase or decrease the overall retirement income most seniors receive?" Options rotated

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6/2-5/05

CBS News Poll. May 20-24, 2005. N=1,150 adults nationwide. MoE ± 3.

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"How should the Social Security system pay its benefits? Should it pay out money to retired people based only on how much they contributed, or should it take some of the contributions of better-off people and give them to poorer people?"

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"Currently, people pay Social Security taxes only on the first $90,000 of their income. Would you favor or oppose raising the amount of income that is subject to Social Security taxes?"

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"Would you favor or oppose limiting the rate of growth of future Social Security benefits for people with incomes of $100,000 or more?"

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"Would you favor or oppose limiting the rate of growth of future Social Security benefits for people with incomes of $50,000 to $100,000?"

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"Do you approve or disapprove of the job President Bush is doing in each of these areas? Handling of Social Security issues."

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3/22-24/05

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"Regardless of how you usually vote, who do you trust more to protect the Social Security system and retirement benefits: the Republicans or the Democrats?"

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CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll. April 29-May 1, 2005. N=1,006 adults nationwide. MoE ± 3.

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"Do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling Social Security?"

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4/1-2/05

2/25-27/05

2/4-6/05

1/7-9/05

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"Do you think the federal government should make major changes in the Social Security system to ensure its long-term future in the next year or two, within the next 10 years, or do you think major changes are not needed within the next 10 years?"

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2/25-27/05

1/7-9/05