2015 illinois state budget annotation - aarp...2015 illinois state budget survey (population: 1,000...

2015 Illinois State Budget Survey (Population: 1,000 State Residents Age 50+)

Hello, this is ______ calling from Precision Research, a national opinion research firm. We are not

telemarketers and are not trying to sell you anything. We would like to find out your opinions on some

important issues concerning state budgets in Illinois. Your views are important and we would greatly

appreciate your participation. All your responses will be kept entirely confidential.

Screener

S1. Our study is interested in the opinions of people in certain age groups. Could you please tell me your age as of your last birthday? [IN YEARS] ___________ [RECORD ACTUAL AGE AND USE THE AGE GROUPS BELOW TO KEEP TRACK OF HOW MANY RESPONDENTS WE ARE GETTING IN EACH GROUP.]

N= 1000

[DO NOT READ] Under 50 [ASK TO SPEAK TO SOMEONE 50 OR OLDER AND REPEAT INTRO AND THEN ASK S1. IF NO ONE 50 OR OLDER, TERMINATE.]

-

50-54 21.2%

55-64 37.5%

65+ 41.3%

[DO NOT READ] Refused [GO TO S2] -

S2. [If REFUSED in S1:] I understand. Some people are not comfortable giving their age, but would you let me know which of the following age ranges you fall into?

Under 50 [ASK TO SPEAK TO SOMEONE 50 OR OLDER. REPEAT INTRO AND THEN ASK S1. IF NO ONE IS 50 OR OLDER, TERMINATE.]

50-54

55-64

65+

[DO NOT READ] Refused [THANK & TERMINATE]

S3. Which of the following statements best describes your residency?

N= 1000

I reside in Illinois year round and do not reside anywhere outside of my state

96.1%

I reside in Illinois for part of the year and I reside in another state for part of the year

3.7%

Something else (specify) ____________________________ 0.2%

D1. To ensure it is recorded accurately, could you please state your gender?

N= 1000

Male 46.3%

Female 53.7%

Main Survey

1. As you think about your finances, how anxious do you feel about having enough money to live

comfortably through your retirement years? Are you… [READ EACH ANSWER CATEGORY]?

N= 1000

Very anxious 23.5%

Somewhat anxious 33.8%

Not very anxious 17.4%

Not anxious at all 22.3%

Not sure/ Don’t know [DO NOT READ] 2.0%

Refused [DO NOT READ] 1.0%

2. Now, thinking about the state and local taxes you pay, not including federal taxes, how strongly do

you agree or disagree that you get the services you need in return for the taxes you pay? Would

you… [READ EACH ANSWER CATEGORY]?

N= 1000

Strongly agree 8.4%

Somewhat agree 30.6%

Somewhat disagree 21.7%

Strongly disagree 35.0%

Not sure (DO NOT READ) 3.8%


3. How aware are you that the Illinois state government is now five months past its deadline to have a budget in place? Would you say you are… [READ EACH ANSWER CATEGORY]?

N= 1000

Very Aware 80.9%

Somewhat aware 12.3%

Not too aware 2.8%

Not at all aware 3.4%



4. I’m going to read you a list of issues. After I read each one, please tell me if you would describe that

issue as a major problem, a minor problem, or not a problem at all in the State of Illinois. Do you

think (INSERT ITEM) is a major problem, a minor problem, or not a problem at all? (RANDOMIZE

ITEMS A-C)

a. Cuts in state funding for essential services that allow seniors to stay in their homes and communities as they age

N= 1000

Major problem 69.2%

Minor problem 19.7%

Not a problem at all 5.8%


Refused (DO NOT READ) 0.2%

b. Lack of cooperation among Illinois elected officials

N= 1000

Major problem 87.2%

Minor problem 7.4%




c. The amount of state and local taxes residents have to pay

N= 1000

Major problem 66.3%

Minor problem 24.2%




5. Of the following list of taxes you might pay in Illinois, tell me if you think they are too high, too low,

or just about right? Do you think (INSERT ITEM) are … (RANDOMIZE ANSWER CATEGORIES) (RANDOMIZE ITEMS A-F)

a. Property taxes

N= 1000

Too high 73.9%

Too low 1.0%

Just about right 21.2%

I do not pay this tax (DO NOT READ) 2.0%



b. Sales taxes

N= 1000

Too high 62.7%

Too low 1.1%





c. Income taxes

N= 1000

Too high 55.1%

Too low 6.0%





d. Cigarette taxes

N= 1000

Too high 32.6%

Too low 15.8%





e. Gasoline taxes

N= 1000

Too high 58.2%

Too low 3.6%





f. Corporate taxes

N= 1000

Too high 33.5%

Too low 26.5%





6. Retirement income is a source of income received once a person retires. This income may come from

a number of different sources such as pension plans, 401(k) accounts, IRAs, self-employed retirement savings, or Social Security benefits. Are you aware that currently, retirement income is not taxed in Illinois?

N= 1000

Yes 56.5%

No 40.8%



7. Some state legislators are proposing to tax retirement income. How strongly do you support or oppose this proposal to tax retirement income? Would you say you… [READ EACH ANSWER CATEGORY]?

N= 1000

Strongly support 2.4%

Somewhat support 6.5%

Somewhat oppose 10.7%

Strongly oppose 78.2%



8. Which of the following best describes your current employment status? Are you… [READ EACH

ANSWER CATEGORY]

N= 1000 Self-employed full-time [GO TO Q9] 6.8% Self-employed part-time [GO TO Q9] 2.4% Employed full-time [GO TO Q9] 27.6% Employed part-time [GO TO Q9] 6.3% Retired and not working at all [GO TO Q 11] 44.2% Unemployed and looking for work [GO TO Q9] 4.6% Or are you not in the labor force for other reasons 7.8% Don’t know [DO NOT READ] 0.3% Refused [DO NOT READ] 0.1%

9. [IF WORKING OR LOOKING FOR WORK] Overall how confident are you that you will be able to retire

at some point? Are you… [READ EACH ANSWER CATEGORY]

N= 477

Very confident 30.9%

Somewhat confident 40.1%

Not very confident 13.7%

Not confident at all 14.3%

Not sure [DO NOT READ] 1.0%

Refused [DO NOT READ] -

10. [IF WORKING OR LOOKING FOR WORK AND Q8=VERY CONFIDENT OR SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT]

When do you plan on retiring and not working at all for pay? Would you say it will be in [READ EACH

ANSWER CATEGORY]

N= 338

A. In less than one year 4.8%

B. In 1 to 2 years 9.5%

C. In 3 to 5 years 20.4%

D. In 6 to 10 years 29.1%

E. in 11-15 years 23.2%

F. In 16-20 years 5.1%

G. In more than 20 years 3.9%

Don’t know (DO NOT READ) 4.1%

Refused (DO NOT READ) -

11. Do you have any retirement savings such as pension plans, 401(k) accounts, IRAs, personal

retirement savings, or Social Security.

N= 1000

Yes GO TO Q12 88.9%

No GO TO Q17 9.8%


12. Are you currently receiving retirement income?

N= 902

Yes GO TO Q14 48.0%

No GO TO Q13 50.6%


13. When do you plan on collecting your retirement income? Would you say it will be in [READ EACH

ANSWER CATEGORY]

N= 469

A. In less than one year 7.7%

B. In 1 to 2 years 7.0%

C. In 3 to 5 years 16.7%

D. In 6 to 10 years 27.0%

E. in 11-15 years 19.9%

F. In 16-20 years 7.5%

G. In more than 20 years 4.3%

Don’t know (DO NOT READ) 7.5%


[RESPONDENTS WHO SAY “NO” TO Q12, SHOULD SKIP TO Q15]

14. [IF Q11 IS YES] Thinking about your current household budget today, if your retirement income were taxed, how much of an impact would it have on your household budget? Would it have a major impact, minor impact, or no impact on your household budget?

N= 433

Major impact 69.6%

Minor impact 23.1%

No impact 4.7%



15. [IF Q11 IS NO] Thinking ahead to your retirement, if your retirement income were to be taxed, how much of an impact would that have on your ability to prepare for a secure retirement? Would you say it would be a [READ EACH ANSWER CATEGORY]

N= 457

Major impact 71.6%

Minor impact 21.2%

No impact 4.4%



16. If lawmakers decide to tax retirement income, would you consider [READ EACH ANSWER CATEGORY]

(RANDOMIZE ITEMS A-F)

N= 902

A. Moving to another state where there are tax friendly laws for retirees

59.6%

B. Moving to another location in Illinois 21.1%

C. Returning to the workforce 33.0%

D. Reducing your household spending 69.2%

E. Reducing spending on services such as hair salons, or lawn services

53.2%

F. Something else (specify) _____________________________

12.6%

17. I’m going to read some other proposals that are being considered to help fix the state budget crisis. For each one, please tell me how strongly you would support or oppose it? Would you say you would… [READ EACH ANSWER CATEGORY] (RANDOMIZE ITEMS A-D)

a. Increasing individual income taxes

N= 1000







b. Increasing property taxes

N= 1000







c. Increasing corporate income taxes

N= 1000







d. Broadening the sales tax to include services not currently taxed, such as hair salons and lawn

services

N= 1000







18. Would you be more or less likely to vote for a candidate who supports the following? Would you be…[READ EACH ANSWER CATEGORY]? (RANDOMIZE ITEMS A-E)

a. Taxing retirement income

N= 1000

More likely 6.5%

Less likely 84.3%

Would not make a difference

6.8%



b. Increasing individual income taxes

N= 1000

More likely 10.5%

Less likely 74.2%


11.9%



c. Taxing services that are not currently taxed such as salons or lawn service

N= 1000

More likely 17.9%

Less likely 52.7%


24.9%



d. Increasing corporate taxes

N= 1000

More likely 41.0%

Less likely 36.7%


16.3%



e. Increasing property taxes

N= 1000

More likely 5.8%

Less likely 83.6%


8.3%



19. How concerned are you with [INSERT EACH RANDOMLY] ? Would you say you are …[READ EACH ANSWER CATEGORY]?

a. Rising income taxes

N= 1000

Extremely concerned 38.2%

Very concerned 29.3%

Somewhat concerned 23.1%

Not too concerned 5.3%

Not at all concerned 3.2%



b. Rising sales taxes

N= 1000








c. Rising property taxes

N= 1000








d. Rising fees such as car registration and garbage fees

N= 1000








e. Rising utility costs

N= 1000








f. Rising health care costs

N= 1000








g. Rising costs of essential items such as groceries

N= 1000








Demographics

The following questions are for classification purposes only and will be kept entirely confidential.

D1. What is your current marital status? Are you….[READ OPTIONS]

N= 1000

Married 57.9%

Not married, living with your partner or significant other

4.3%

Separated 0.9%

Divorced 11%

Widowed, or are you… 17.2%

Currently single and never Married 7.3%

Not Sure [DO NOT READ] 0.2%


D2. [IF D1=married ASK: “Are you or your spouse currently a member of A-A-R-P?” IF D1 = living with partner ASK: “Are you or your partner currently a member of A-A-R-P?” OTHERWISE ASK IF AGE 50+: “Are you currently a member of A-A-R-P?”]

N= 1000

Yes 49.3%

No 49.5%


REFUSED [DO NOT READ] 0.6%

D3. Are you of Hispanic or Latino origin or descent?

N= 1000

Yes 3.6%

No 94.2%



D4. What is your race? Are you….[READ EACH ANSWER CATEGORY]?

N= 1000

White or Caucasian 79.7%

Black or African American 11.6%

Native American or Alaskan Native 0.4%

Asian 1.0%

Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander 0.1%

Or are you some other race? [Please Specify: _______]

4.1%



D5. Are you a registered voter?

N= 1000

Yes 95.9%

No 3.7%



D6. Do you consider yourself to be a ….….[READ AND RANDOMIZE EACH ANSWER CATEGORY]..or something

else?

N= 1000

Democrat 32.8%

Republican 23.7%

Independent 28.9%

Other 7.1%



D7. How would you characterize your political views? Would you say you are….[READ AND RANDOMIZE EACH

ANSWER CATEGORY]…or none of these?

N= 1000

Conservative 34.5%

Moderate 37.3%

Liberal 17.3%

None of these 6.3%



D8. Do you own or rent your primary residence?

D9. What is your 5-digit zip code? ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

D10. We realize income is a private matter and so rather than ask you anything specific about your income, I’d like to ask you to please stop me when I get to the category that includes your household’s income before taxes in 2014. Was it….[READ EACH ANSWER CATEGORY]?

N= 1000

Less than $10,000 4.4%

$10,000 to less than $20,000 7.6%

$20,000 to less than $30,000 8.7%

$30,000 to less than $40,000 9.0%

$40,000 to less than $50,000 8.3%

$50,000 to less than $60,000 8.5%

$60,000 to less than $75,000 6.1%

$75,000 to less than $100,000 10.1%

$100,000 to less than $125,000 6.7%

$125,000 to less than $150,000 4.3%

$150,000 to less than $200,000 3.5%

$200,000 or more 4.8%

[DO NOT READ] Not sure 2.9%

[DO NOT READ] Refused 15.2%

That was our last question for tonight. Thank you very much for taking the time to help us out. Have a

great day/night!

N= 1000

Own 81.6%

Rent 14.7%



METHODOLOGY

The AARP 2015 Illinois State Budget Survey was conducted as a telephone survey among residents age 50 or

older in the state of Illinois. The survey collected the opinions of Illinois residents on issues related to taxes,

retirement income and the Illinois State budget crisis. The survey was approximately 13 minutes in length. The

interviews were conducted in English by Precision Opinion from November 18th to November 28th, 2015. The

sample utilized RDD landline and cell phone records. The margin of sampling error for the sample of 1,000 for

Illinois is +/-3.2%.

DESIGN AND DATA COLLECTION PROCEDURES:

The sample utilized on this project was RDD landline and cell phone records. A total of 3,968 cell phones were

dialed, from which 200 surveys were completed. RDD sample was pulled with virtual Genesys system from

Marketing Systems Group (MSG).

The questionnaire was developed by AARP staff. Prior to this project’s launch, testing was completed internally

at Precision Opinion and additionally by AARP staff. Further, Precision Opinion ran a simulated data set and

conducted a full review of said data prior to commencing field work.

WEIGHTING

The sample was weighted by age within gender to reflect the population of residents in the state of Illinois age

50+.

RESPONSE RATE/COOPERATION RATE/REFUSAL RATE

The response rate for this study was measured using AAPOR’s response rate 3 method. The cooperation rate

was measured using AAPOR’s cooperation rate 3 method. The refusal rate was measured using AAPOR’s

refusal rate 3 method. The table below contains these rates.

Response Rate Cooperation Rate Refusal Rate

8% 92% 4%

*Source: AAPOR Outcome Rate Calculator Version 2.1 May 2003

2015 illinois state budget annotation - aarp...2015 illinois state budget survey (population: 1,000...

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