Supporting Statement

OMB Supporting Statement

Financial Management Service/Treasury EFT Senior Benefit Recipient Survey

Quantitative Survey

Background

The Financial Management Service (FMS), a bureau of the Department of the Treasury (Treasury), requested that the Federal Reserve Bank (FRB) of St. Louis (acting as Treasury’s Fiscal Agent) plan and execute a national marketing campaign about direct deposit. To perform this task, the FRB of St. Louis contracted with a national marketing firm. FMS/Treasury and the FRB of St. Louis launched the Go Direct campaign nationally on September 27, 2005. The campaign is a marketing program designed to encourage Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) check recipients to switch to direct deposit. Given the campaign's success over the past four years, FMS has decided to continue this effort in 2010-11, and the FRB has contracted with Weber Shandwick for assistance in providing services for FMS in connection with the campaign.

On April 14, 2010, the Treasury announced an initiative that will require anyone applying on or after May 1, 2011, for new federal benefits to receive their benefit payments electronically and all existing benefit check recipients to switch by March 2013.

As part of this effort to prepare for an all electronic Treasury, the Go Direct Team will launch a public education initiative to ensure that new and existing federal benefit recipients are aware of the new requirement and prepared to comply with it, and to communicate this change in a way that minimizes negative feelings toward the requirement and effectively communicates the benefits of electronic benefit payments.

On behalf of FMS/Treasury, the FRB of St. Louis and its contractors, Weber Shandwick and KRC Research, plan to conduct a national telephone survey among seniors 62 years or older who receive a federal benefit payment. The survey is designed to provide updated information about attitudes and habits around direct deposit. Over the past three years, the Go Direct campaign has conducted similar national (and target market) telephone surveys among other audiences.

This research is a component of the data collection approved in the October 2003 Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) Market Research Study submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). In this case, the research is directed specifically toward retirees or other seniors who receive federal benefit payments and is topically similar to the research referenced in the October 2003 EFT Market Research Study Supporting Statement for Paper Work Reduction Act (PRA) Submission (OMB Control #1510-0074).

The objective of this voluntary telephone survey is to allow us to understand attitudes toward direct deposit among those most impacted by the new requirement to receive all federal benefit payments electronically. The cohort of senior benefit recipients is the largest group impacted by the new rule; and as result, it is important to understand attitudes toward direct deposit or other electronic payment options to receive federal benefit payments. This survey will also allow us to build on our current body of research to deepen our understanding of consumer perceptions and attitudes toward payment technology in support of FMS/Treasury’s new requirement and in support of the ongoing Go Direct campaign to encourage compliance and continued compliance with the new rule.

Methodology

To provide up-to-date information about seniors’ attitudes toward direct deposit,

KRC Research will conduct a 15-minute telephone survey of 1,000 adults 62 and over who receive a federal benefit payment. The survey will use a national random digit dial sample. To ensure a nationally representative sample of this audience, KRC will set quotas on gender and region.

FMS/Treasury understands that this methodology will underrepresent adult consumers that do not have telephones in their homes. The audiences that will be underrepresented in the telephone survey make up a small percentage of seniors nationally. Given that random sample telephone surveys continue to be the academically and commercially accepted method for collecting statistically valid random samples of adults, Weber Shandwick/KRC Research are confident that the telephone survey will accomplish the objectives of this research.

Estimated Burden Hours

Completion of the telephone survey of 1,000 seniors 62 and over is expected to take approximately 250 hours of time for those who are contacted and complete the telephone interview.

This estimate is based on the following:

Completing 1,000 15-minute interviews (1,000 interviews x 15 minutes)/60 = 250 hours.

Contact

For questions regarding the telephone survey, contact:

Doug Baker

KRC Research

700 13^th Street, NW, Suite 800

Washington, DC 20005

(202) 585-2829

E-mail address: [email protected]