The Akron Legal News

AARP poll of Ohio women shows desire for action on Social Security

KEITH ARNOLD
Special to the Legal News
Published: August 29, 2016

Immediate action on Social Security is what nearly three-quarters of Ohio female voters 50 years old and older want from their next president and U.S. Congress, according to the results of a new AARP Ohio poll.

AARP Ohio released results of a poll of likely women voters who believe candidates have not done enough to inform payers into the trust about plans for the entitlement program.

The survey found 73 percent of women voters in Ohio believe the next president and Congress need to act immediately to update Social Security, while 52 percent say they would be impacted if the program is not updated by 2034, when beneficiaries could face a cut of nearly a quarter of their benefits.

“Women depend on Social Security,” said Nancy LeaMond, executive vice president and chief Advocacy & Engagement officer for AARP. “We have longer life expectancies, so we rely on the benefits for a longer time.

“To be completely frank, women voters don’t want a sound bite; they want a candidate’s plan.”

According to a press release announcing the results of the poll, likely Ohio women voters chose Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump 45 percent to 29 percent when asked who they would vote for were the election held today.

The 22 percent of remaining respondents were undecided or said they would choose another candidate.

Would-be voters polled believed Clinton was perceived as a leader who would keep Social Security strong by a margin of 52 percent to 32 percent.

When the sampling was asked if they had heard about the candidates’ Social Security plans, survey respondents indicated the vast majority had not, the press release detailed, with just 31 percent hearing about Clinton’s plan, and 19 percent hearing about Trump’s plan.

The survey was conducted by telephone between Aug. 1 and Aug. 7 by Lake Research Partners and American Viewpoint for AARP. The survey reached a total of 545 Ohio women, aged 50 years old and older, who were likely to vote in the upcoming general election. The recorded margin of error of the survey was plus or minus 4.2 percent.

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