Securing the Future

October 2007 Survey Research Report

 Overall results

1. In general, do you think the nation’s economy is headed in the right direction or is it off on the wrong track?

	#	%
Right direction	208	28
Wrong track	476	63
Not sure	66	9
TOTAL	750
Net right direction	-267	-36%
Right : wrong	1:2.3

2. In terms of your own personal situation, are you better off, worse off, or about the same financially as you were one year ago?

	#	%
Better	177	24
Worse	178	24
About the same	396	53
TOTAL	750

3. Looking ahead, do you expect your personal financial situation to be better, worse or about the same one year from now?

	#	%
Better	220	29
Worse	123	16
About the same	379	51
Not sure	29	4
TOTAL	750

4. Have you personally had to sell your home, or do you know anyone who has had to sell their home or had their home mortgage foreclosed as a direct result of the current problems in the home mortgage market?

	#	%
Yes	99	13
No	651	87
TOTAL	750
Net yes	-553	-74%
Yes : no	1:6.6

5. Do you believe the federal government should intervene to financially help individuals who may lose their homes because they over-extended themselves financially, or do you think that is a risk they took and they should not be helped by government?

	#	%
Government should help	217	29
Government should not help	450	60
Not sure	83	11
TOTAL	750
Net should help	-233	-31%
Should help : should not help	1:2.1

6. A number of home mortgage firms either have gone bankrupt or may go bankrupt as a result of rising interest rates and the slowdown in the residential housing market.  Do you think the federal government should financially assist such companies, or do you think that is a risk they took and they should not be helped by government?

	#	%
Government should help	147	20
Government should not help	541	72
Not sure	62	8
TOTAL	750
Net should help	-395	-53%
Should help : should not help	1:3.7

7. Do you own your own home?

	#	%
Yes	638	85
No	112	15
TOTAL	750
Net yes	526	70%
Yes : no	5.7:1

8. About what percentage of your take home pay goes toward your mortgage payment?

	#	%
10-20%	125	24
21-30%	103	20
31-40%	33	6
41-50%	28	5
More than 50%	19	4
Not sure	215	41
Refused	115
TOTAL	638

9. Do you have an organized plan for your personal finances?

	#	%
Yes	569	76
No	171	23
Not sure	10	1
TOTAL	750
Net yes	398	53%
Yes : no	3.3:1

10. How important would you say it is to have an organized plan for your financial future:

	#	%
Very important	610	81
Somewhat important	98	13
Somewhat unimportant	7	1
Not important	18	2
Not sure	17	2
TOTAL	750

11. Are you now or have you ever participated in private savings programs to finance higher education costs for yourself or a member of your family?

	#	%
Yes	248	33
No	494	66
Not sure	8	1
TOTAL	750
Net yes	-246	-33%
Yes : no	1:2.0

12. What type of savings program have you utilized?

	#	%
Pa tuition acct program	32	13
529 savings plan	51	21
Bank/credit union acct	52	21
Mutual fund	49	20
State savings plan	1	0
Regular savings acct	6	3
Stock market	2	1
Insurance	3	1
Trust fund	2	1
Ira	3	1
CDs	2	1
U-promise	1	1
Savings bonds	4	2
Student loans	7	3
Other	9	4
Not sure	23	9
TOTAL	248

13. Do you personally plan to retire on or near age 65 or do you anticipate working significantly past that age?

	#	%
Yes/retire on/near 65	222	30
No/work longer	201	27
Already retired	287	38
Not sure	41	5
TOTAL	750

14. How confident are you that you have set enough resources aside for retirement income:

	#	%
Extremely confident	80	11
Very confident	199	27
Somewhat confident	259	35
Confident	279	37%
Not very confident	102	14
Not confident	186	25%
Not confident at all	84	11
Not sure	26	3
TOTAL	750
Net confident	93	12%
Confident : not confident	1.5:1

15. How much will you depend on the government for such items as retirement income, health care and other social services once you retire:

	#	%
Heavily dependent	111	15
Somewhat dependent	437	58
Not dependent at all	171	23
Not sure	31	4
TOTAL	750

16. Aside from social security, are you presently saving for retirement via an employer-sponsored pension program, 401k, IRA, or other investment instrument?

	#	%
Yes	418	56
No	325	43
Not sure	5	1
Refused	2
TOTAL	750

17. Why types of savings instrument are you utilizing?

	#	%
Employer-sponsored	58	14
Traditional pension	29	7
Mutual fund	26	6
401k	175	43
403b	15	4
Ira	76	19
All of above	4	1
CDs	1	0
Personal income	6	1
Stock market	2	0
Other	8	2
Not sure	11	3
Refused	9
TOTAL	418

18. Looking ahead to retirement, what portion of your retirement income do you expect to come from social security, and what portion do you plan to finance from private investments:

	#	%
100% Ssocial Security	68	9
75% ss/25% private	81	11
50% SS/50% private	176	24
25% SS/75% private	189	26
Mostly private	120	16
Not sure	94	13
Refused	23
TOTAL	750

19. What portion of your annual income do you currently invest or save for the future:

	#	%
Under 5%	222	31
6%-10%	160	22
11%-15%	97	14
16%-20%	66	9
21%-25%	29	4
Over 25%	37	5
Not sure	103	14
Refused	34
TOTAL	750

20. Are you or is anyone in your household presently insured for “end-of-life” expenses, such as extended nursing home care:

	#	%
Yes	148	20
No	588	78
Not sure	15	2
TOTAL	750
Net yes	-440	-59%
Yes : no	1:4.0

21. Should the government participate in paying for “end-of-life” expenses such as extended nursing home care?

	#	%
Yes	409	54
No	259	35
Not sure	82	11
TOTAL	750
Net yes	149	20%
Yes : no	1.6:1

22. How important is it for you to pre-plan final documents, such as a will, living will, and/or power of attorney:

	#	%
Very important	602	80
Somewhat important	115	15
Somewhat unimportant	10	1
Very unimportant	9	1
Not sure	13	2
TOTAL	750
Important	717	96%
Unimportant	20	3%
Net important	697	93%
Important : unimportant	36.2:1

23. Do you favor or oppose enactment of what’s commonly referred to as the right to work law, whereby a worker cannot be compelled to join or pay fees to a labor union as a condition of employment?

	#	%
Strongly favor	261	35
Somewhat favor	158	21
Somewhat oppose	93	12
Strongly oppose	134	18
Not sure	105	14
TOTAL	750
Favor	419	56%
Oppose	226	30%
Net favor	193	26%
Favor : oppose	1.9:1

24. Do you agree or disagree that employees who choose not to join a union should still be required to pay an administration fee to a labor union if their workplace is represented by a union?

	#	%
Strongly agree	161	22
Somewhat agree	131	18
Strongly disagree	183	25
Somewhat disagree	200	27
Not sure	68	9
Refused	7
TOTAL	750
Agree	292	39%
Disagree	383	52%
Net agree	-90	-12%
Agree : disagree	1:1.3

25. Age group

	#	%
18-34	52	7
35-44	90	12
45-54	157	21
55-64	210	28
65+	240	32
TOTAL	750

26. Income

	#	%
Under $20,000	128	20
$20,000-$30,000	94	15
$30,000-$50,000	140	22
$50,000-$75,000	115	18
$75,000-$100,000	63	10
Over $100,000	76	12
Not sure	29	5
Refused	106
TOTAL	750

27. Political philosophy

	#	%
Conservative	381	52
Liberal	215	29
Moderate	100	14
Not sure	41	6
Refused	13
TOTAL	750

28. Education

	#	%
Less than high school	35	5
High school graduate	273	37
2 yr degree/technical	151	20
4 year degree	156	21
Graduate degree	129	17
Refused	6
TOTAL	750

29. Religious affiliation

	#	%
None	65	9
Protestant	174	25
Catholic	211	30
Jewish	15	2
Christian	88	12
Lutheran	34	5
Methodist	43	6
Evangelical	6	1
Baptist	41	6
Episcopal	7	1
Mennonite	4	1
Pentecostal	1	0
Buddhist	6	1
Other	8	1
Not sure	6	1
Refused	41
TOTAL	750

30. Affiliation

	#	%
Democrat	370	49
Republican	298	40
Independent	69	9
Other	14	2
TOTAL	750

31. Gender

	#	%
Male	371	49
Female	379	51
TOTAL	750