New Cato-Zogby Poll Shows Two-Thirds of Likely Voters Support Personal Social Security Accounts

July 29, 2002

Amidst the downturn in the stock markets and corporate accounting scandals, 68 percent of likely voters continue to support allowing workers to invest a portion of their Social Security taxes in personal retirement accounts, a new Cato Institute/Zogby International poll has found. The national survey's findings were particularly revealing as the poll was conducted during a week when the Dow-Jones stock index dropped of almost 700 points.

The results of the poll, conducted for Cato by the respected independent polling firm Zogby International, reveal that Americans would back changes to the Social Security system to permit investment in individual accounts by a margin of greater than 2-1. Further, the support cuts across all demographic and ideological lines.

"The most important reason why people support individual retirement accounts is a desire to control their own retirement savings," said Michael Tanner, director of Cato's Project on Social Security Choice.

"While people are clearly concerned about recent market turmoil," said John Zogby, "there is a fundamental belief in controlling your own retirement that trumps any volatility."

When posed with the statement, "There are some in government who advocate changing the Social Security system to give younger workers the choice to invest a portion of their Social Security taxes through individual accounts similar to IRAs or 401(K) plans," 68 percent of voters indicated support, 29 percent opposed and 3 percent weren't sure.

Younger people overwhelmingly supported individual accounts (83 percent), while a clear majority of union workers and Democrats (64 percent and 56 percent respectively) felt the same way.

Perhaps most surprisingly, 64 percent of voters agreed that the recent accounting scandals meant that people needed more control over their retirement finances, making them more likely to support private accounts for Social Security.

The 10-question survey of 1,109 likely voters was conducted between July 8 and July 12— two weeks after the WorldCom accounting scandal broke and during the week when the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 695 points. The poll has a margin of error of +/- 3.1 percent.

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