The Use of Longitudinal Data on Social Security Program Knowledge

Abstract

This article presents and compares results from the first two waves of Understanding America Study (UAS) surveys of public knowledge about Social Security programs. The article briefly reviews the Social Security Administration’s past efforts to gauge public knowledge of the programs, describes the UAS survey instrument used in the current effort, and presents survey results with detail by respondent age, education, and financial literacy level. Among the authors’ findings are that younger workers with lower levels of education and financial literacy are logical targets for agency informational outreach and interventions.

Keywords: Understanding America Study, Internet panels, surveys, Social Security, public awareness, public knowledge

JEL Classification: H53, H55