NEW: Poll Says Rhode Islanders Want Pension Reform
Thursday, October 06, 2011
The newly formed pension reform group made up of businesses, trade associations and social service agencies today released a poll that shows 92 percent of registered Rhode Island voters believe changed is needed in the pension system and 63 percent would prefer a complete overhaul.
EngageRI found that nearly 9 in 10 voters (87 percent) believe that the fact that the state pension fund is underfunded by $7 billion is a major problem while nearly 3 in 4 voters (73 percent) support the potential reform plan, while just 26 percent oppose.
The survey consisted of 450 interviews with likely 2012 general election voters across Rhode Island. The interviews were conducted September 7-10, 2011 by the Benenson Strategy Group. The Benenson Strategy Group is a nationally recognized research firm with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Denver and Washington, D.C. The margin of error for overall results is ±4.6%.
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“In the social service community we know that we cannot continue on the current path, but it was gratifying to see that Rhode Islanders from every community and demographic share our concerns,” said Margaret Holland McDuff, CEO, Family Service of RI and Co-Chairperson of EngageRI. “Nearly three-fourths of voters from all areas of the state support reform along with 61% of union households. They understand – as we do – that reform is critical to retirement security,” said McDuff.
In a GoLocalProv/Starr Opinion Research poll releaed last month, 43 percent of registered voters said they feel the state is facing a major crisis in Rhode Island’s public employee pension system and 68 percent said they have little or no confidence in the ability of elected officials to solve the issue.
