Poll: Americans Nervous About Retirement

WASHINGTON -- Americans over 40 and people who are nervous about retirement are most likely to oppose President Bush's plan for creating personal accounts in Social Security, an Associated Press poll found.

Almost half of Americans who haven't retired say they don't think they're doing a good job of getting ready for that time in their lives, according to the AP poll. Many say they're not confident they'll have enough money to live comfortably after they quit working.

More than half of Americans, 55 percent, say they oppose the president's plan to create private accounts, while 39 percent say they support it, according to the poll conducted for AP by Ipsos-Public Affairs. Support for the plan drops among Democrats and independents when it's described specifically as "President Bush's plan."

Two-thirds of those who say they're doing an excellent job of preparing for retirement support Bush's plan to create personal accounts, while those who say they are doing a good job are evenly split. Two-thirds of those doing a fair or poor job of preparing for retirement oppose his plan.

Support for the changes in Social Security also varies sharply with different age groups. A majority of people from 18-29, 54 percent, support the president's plan, while only a third of those from 40-64 and a fourth of those 65 and over say they support the plan.

-- NYSSCPA.org News Staff

Posted on 3/2/05