Summary of New Retirement Product Message and Materials Research

2

Summary of New Retirement Product Message and Materials Assessment Qualitative Research

September 17, 2013

This memo provides an overview of the new retirement product message and materials assessment research. This overview document is meant to accompany four documents for OMB approval: two screening questionnaires that will be used to identify and recruit the research participants, and two discussion guides that will be used during the qualitative discussions. We will conduct the qualitative research with two groups: consumers and benefits decision makers for small, medium, and large companies.

Purpose. The purpose of this project is to obtain feedback on messages and materials being developed to support the new retirement product.

Approach. This research will be conducted through two in-person focus groups with a cross-section of consumers, two in-person focus groups with decision makers from small and medium-size businesses and an online bulletin board session with benefits managers of larger organizations.

Artemis has developed a screening protocol designed to recruit consumers who represent a cross-section of the population in terms of gender, race/ethnicity, age, income, education, employment status, asset levels, and current retirement savings behaviors. The screening protocol for benefits decisions makers will ensure that some represent companies who currently do offer payroll-based retirement plans to employees and others that do not currently offer this benefit.

The screening protocols will be used to recruit at least 20 consumers for the focus groups to assure at least 8 participants in each session (minimum of 16 total participants); 14 small/medium employers for the two employer focus groups to assure at least 10 total participants (5 to 6 per focus group); and 12-14 benefits managers at large organizations to ensure a minimum of 8-10 bulletin board participants.

The in-person focus group sessions will each last approximately 120 minutes and the bulletin board session will ask participants to spend up to one hour. A professional moderator will conduct the focus group sessions and moderate the bulletin board session. Burden estimate: the total number of participants will range between 34 and 42 participants. Total burden time will be between 77 and 106 hours (assuming 2.5 hours per focus group participant for screening and group participation and 1.5 hours for bulletin board participants for screening and group participation).

Members of the Treasury and communications team will be able to attend the focus group sessions in person at the research facility or view them remotely via computer. These sessions will be recorded and available for viewing after the session. Observation and transcripts for the bulletin board session also will be available. Artemis will prepare a full report of findings and present to the team.

Question focus. This round of research builds on the Name and Logo testing research conducted in August. In this round the focus shifts toward exposure of specific materials to obtain reactions to language and design elements, as well as to probe wants and needs for specific types of information. Some questions about process also will be included to gain background and perspective on the other answers. Respondents will view a combination of language presentations as well as design permutations, all of which will be developed by the communications team. Questions will be aimed at meaning, clarity and appeal measures. Some of the materials will apply to both consumer and business respondents and some will be geared more specifically to each audience. For details, see the discussion guides which accompany this document.

Analysis. Analysis will be primarily diagnostic, directed heavily at identifying the factors and approaches with the greatest appeal, relevance and appropriateness for the cross-section of consumers and target employers. A secondary set of findings will be directed at any adoption process issues that are developed from this round of research. The research team will interpret and present the results to the full Research Workgroup, and will discuss recommendations and implications.

Timing.

September – OMB Review

September/October -- Development of materials to be tested and focus group/interview protocol.

November – Finalization of materials; recruiting of focus group/bulletin board participants.

Mid November or early December – Conduct focus groups and bulletin board.

December – Analyze and report on findings.