Washington Post/Harvard University/Kaiser Family Foundation Entitlement Poll, March 1997

This special topic poll, fielded March 13-23, 1997, is part
of a continuing series of monthly polls that solicit public opinion on
the presidency and on a range of other political and social issues.
The focus of this data collection was to assess respondents' views on
Social Security, Medicare, entitlement programs, and retirement.
Respondents were asked whether the country was moving in the right
direction, and gave their opinion on the condition of the national
economy. Respondents were asked to assess their knowledge of the
Social Security program, including who is eligible to receive the
benefits, what limits, if any, exist in the distribution of those
benefits, the use of Social Security payroll taxes, the current state
of the program, and the amount of benefits received by the average
Social Security recipient. Similar questions were raised regarding
Medicare, including the differences between it and Medicaid, the
origin of Medicare funds, the extent of Medicare coverage, and the
future of the Medicare trust fund. Respondents were asked about their
retirement planning, such as their saving patterns, potential sources
of income during their retirement, private pensions and 401K plans,
and the amount of money that they felt was necessary to live as a
retired person. Information was also collected on respondents'
retirement status and their receipt of Medicare and Social Security
benefits. Demographic variables include sex, age, race, ethnicity,
education level, household income, political party affiliation, and
political philosophy.