New Zogby International Poll: Majority Support for Social Security Privatization

September 9, 1999

A new nationwide poll conducted for the Cato Institute by Zogby International shows wide support for allowing people to invest their Social Security taxes in privately owned individual retirement accounts. Overall, Americans prefer changing the Social Security system to allow people to choose to put their payroll taxes into individual accounts similar to IRAs or 401(k) programs by a margin of 54.9 percent to 31.4 percent. The survey of 1,205 voters nationwide was conducted from July 29 to August 2, 1999, and the poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percent.

Large pluralities of Republicans, Democrats and Independents favor allowing people to invest Social Security taxes in individual accounts. All three groups are more likely to vote for a candidate for Congress or president who supports privatization in the 2000 elections.

Majority support for individual accounts extended across all age groups except those over 65. Respondents aged 18-29 favored private investment accounts by a decisive margin of 78.3 percent to 12.6 percent; those aged 30-49 favored individual accounts by 71.0 percent to 17.7 percent; and even those nearest retirement age, aged 50-64, prefered the private investment alternative with a majority of 51.4 percent in favor and 35.3 percent against. Only those over 65 were opposed, 26.5 percent to 53.8 percent. The survey also found that all age groups, other than those 65 and older, consider the current Social Security system more risky than private investments because they believe the government will not be able to pay all the benefits it has promised.

Among racial groups, minorities turned out to favor private investment even more than whites: 57.8 percent of blacks want to be able to invest at least part of their money; Hispanics, 60.6 percent; and whites, 54.0 percent.

A significant variation turned up among women: 75 percent of women who work outside the home prefer at least some investment opportunity, compared with 48 percent of women who stay at home. And while union leaders have waged a heavy campaign against privatization, 53.8 percent of union workers supported transforming Social Security into a system of individual accounts. Only 30.8 percent of union workers opposed privatization. These numbers were nearly identical to those for the population at large. Born-again Christians supported privatization by 52.1 percent to 34.0 percent.

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