Civil Beat Poll – Hawaii Public Pension Woes Weigh on Voters
The word “pension” didn’t deserve a mention in Gov. Neil Abercrombie‘s State of the State text this year.
But last year he told the public of the need to “achieve a resolution of the crisis of unfunded liabilities in pension funds and runaway health costs.”
It seems like they may have got the message.
More than 80 percent of likely voters in Hawaii are concerned about the state’s pension system, according to The Civil Beat Poll.
With the state’s taxpayers owing about $9 billion more in benefits than the Employees’ Retirement System has on hand, 61 percent of voters said they are very concerned about the situation, with 21 percent saying they’re somewhat concerned. Just 14 percent of voters said they’re not concerned, with 5 percent unsure.
The automated telephone poll1 was conducted on Jan. 18 and 19 and has a margin of error of +/- 2.7 percent. Civil Beat surveyed 1,358 likely voters about a range of issues, from the U.S. Senate race to the pension system. (Read the complete results of the pension poll at the bottom of this article.)
Civil Beat also asked in general terms about a proposal before the Hawaii Legislature to limit the growth of the unfunded liability by putting a cap on overtime hours in calculating pensions.
The poll found that 69 percent of voters favor excluding overtime hours in pension calculations, with just 21 percent saying they should be included, and 10 percent unsure.
Two bills before the Legislature, and , address the pension spiking issue.
They are part of the governor’s bill package. Both would “prevent unexpected increases in pension benefits and in the unfunded actuarial accrued liability of the Employees’ Retirement System by limiting the amount of compensation included in “average final compensation” and requiring employers to pay the additional costs resulting from spiking.”
Public employees, the prospective beneficiaries of the pension system, are the most concerned about its health, with 74 percent very concerned and 17 percent somewhat concerned. That compares with 60 percent of non-governmental voters who say they’re very concerned, and 21 percent somewhat concerned.
The concern was consistent across gender, age, income and party. The only ethnicity not above 80 percent concerned is Chinese, at 71 percent. Concern among education levels is consistent, except for those with no high school diploma, who are most concerned, at 90 percent.
When it comes to spiking, men and women feel roughly the same way. The oldest voters, those over 65, are strongest in their view that overtime should be excluded, 76 percent. Republicans are at 78 percent, compared with 66 percent of Democrats.
Only Filipinos dip below 60 percent in believing overtime should be excluded, at 53 percent.
Perhaps most interesting, voters who identified themselves as public employees essentially felt the same way as non-governmental employees, with 71 percent of public employees saying overtime should be excluded from pension calculations, while the number was 68 percent for non-governmental voters.
High school graduates were the education level most likely to say overtime should be included, at 28 percent. And the more wealthy the household, the more opposed to including overtime in pension calculations.
Complete results:
RELATED POLL STORIES:
- Monday: Civil Beat Poll – Case, Hirono Neck-and-Neck for U.S. Senate Nomination
- Tuesday: Civil Beat Poll – Lingle Trails Both Democratic U.S. Senate Candidates
- Wednesday: Civil Beat Poll – Hawaii Voters Don’t Want Gambling, Single Casino
- Thursday: Civil Beat Poll – Hawaii Voters Lack Confidence in Department of Education
- Friday: Civil Beat Poll — January 2012 Demographics and Questionnaire
