IC Template

Request for Approval under the “Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on the
Service Delivery of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau” (OMB Control Number: 3170-0024)
1. TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION:
Round 2 of User testing to solicit feedback on the Bureau’s Planning for retirement- Before you
claim English website
2. PURPOSE:
The purpose of this effort is to receive public feedback on the content comprehension and re-design of the
web page in English. Results will confirm or deny the effectiveness of our recent changes and will influence
further decisions on content changes and the future direction of the web page.

3. DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS:
The targeted group of respondents will include people who:
o

plan to claim Social Security at age 65 or less, or are unsure when they will claim

o

visit financial websites for information gathering or account tracking purposes, such as:

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Tracking or managing general financial accounts online

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Accessing retirement plan accounts online

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Accessing Social Security retirement benefit information online

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Accessing a Social Security retirement benefit account (e.g. mySSA) online

Exclude anyone who states that they are currently receiving or will soon receive Social Security
retirement benefits, Social Security disability benefits, SSI, or Social Security survivor benefits or have
claimed them in the past.
Recruit for a mix of race, ethnicity, and education.
Recruit for an equal distribution of gender.
Recruit for a mix of device type usage to access financial websites.
Recruit some participants who characterize their beliefs around retirement planning as either “When I
find new advice about retirement, I investigate it to see if it can help my planning” or “I have planned
for my retirement, but that planning could change”.
Recruit some participants who characterize their beliefs around retirement planning as either “My
retirement planning is pretty set. I've gotten all the guidance and advice I might need” or “I've done
clearly defined planning for my retirement, and know exactly what I have to do to achieve it”.
Recruit some participants who indicate that they haven’t done any planning for his/her retirement
Recruit some participants who indicate that they are widowed, to understand if our content serves their
needs with respect to survivor benefits.
Recruit with a strong priority towards the 50-61 age range,
o If needed to fill out the recruitment pool, recruit from the 40-49 age range first, followed by the
62-69 age range.
Recruit with the following aims for income:
o roughly 50% of participants falling into the $30,000 - $50,000 or $50,000 - $100,000 income
brackets
o roughly 25% of participants in the less than $30,000 income bracket
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o

roughly 25% of participants in the $100,000 - $150,000 or $150,000 or more income brackets.

4. TYPE OF COLLECTION (ADMINISTRATION OF THE INSTRUMENT):
a.

How will you collect the information? (Check all that apply)
[ x ] Web-based or other forms of Social Media [ ] Telephone
[ x] In-person
[ ] Mail
[ ] Small Discussion Group
[ ] Focus Group
[ x] Other, Explain __UX Study___________

b.

Will interviewers or facilitators be used?
[ x ] Yes [ ] No [ ] Not Applicable

5. FOCUS GROUP OR SURVEY:
If you plan to conduct a focus group or survey, please provide answers to the following questions:
a. Do you have a customer list or something similar that defines the universe of potential
respondents and do you have a sampling plan for selecting from this universe?
[ ] Yes [ ] No [x ] Not Applicable
b. If the answer is yes, please provide a description below. If the answer is no, please provide a
description of how you plan to identify your potential group of respondents and how you will select
them?
6. PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION:
a. Is personally identifiable information (PII) collected? [x ] Yes [] No
b. If Yes, is the information that will be collected included in records that are subject to the
Privacy Act of 1974? [x ] Yes [ ] No [ ] Not Applicable
If Applicable, has a System or Records Notice (SORN) been published?
[x ] Yes [ ] No [] Not Applicable
If yes, cite the SORN. Title: CFPB.021- CFPB Consumer Education and Engagement Records, 79
FR 78839.
c. If applicable, what is the link to the Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA)?
http://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/201406_cfpb_consumer-experience-research_pia.pdf

7. INCENTIVES:
a. Is an incentive provided to participants? [ x ] Yes [ ] No
b. If Yes, provide the amount or value of the incentive? $__75.00_________.
c. If Yes, provide a statement justifying the use and amount of the incentive.
While sessions will last 60-90 minutes, participants are required to arrive 10 minutes early to sign in, and to
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ensure sessions begin as scheduled. Upon completion of the session, participants are required to sign out
and receive their incentive. Thus, they are in the office for a total of 75-120 minutes. Further, many
participants have to travel 30-60 minutes to and from the facility. In our experience, a $75 incentive for a
60-90 minute session allows for successful recruitment by reducing the amount of time required to recruit
(i.e., it is more difficult and takes longer to recruit participants when we offer a lower incentive) and
simultaneously increasing the attendance rate.
When considering the potential estimated time and cost of participating in this test, such costs as childcare,
transportation, and potential lost wages could result in a high no show rate. For example, a conservatively
estimated childcare cost of $25, transportation cost $35, and potential lost wages of $18 amounts to an
estimated $78 cost of participation. The basis for our participant cost analysis is outlined below:
Summary of Estimated Participant Costs
• Child Care: $25 ($10 per hour / per child with up to 1 hour commuting + 1.5 hours at test site =
2.5 hours of child care)
• Transportation: $35 (2015 Federal mileage rate of 57.5 cents per mile @ an average of 60 miles).
• Lost Wages: $18 (Federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour x (1 hour commuting + 1.5 hours at
test site) = 2.5 hours of potential lost wages)
Total: $78 (Estimated participant cost)
Child Care: We found that nationally the babysitting rate is typically around $8 - $12 per hour with an
average of $10 per hour. While some participants will have multiple children who will require childcare,
others will have none. Therefore, we are taking a conservative estimate of only one child.
Transportation: We used the IRS mileage rate of 57.5 cents per mile with a potential of 60 miles of travel.
Lost Wages: We have no specific data on the hourly wage of potential participants; therefore, in order to
estimate the potential lost wages of participants, we took a very conservative approach and based this
estimate on the Federal minimum wage.
In summary, given the difficulties of recruiting the desired population and the potential costs of
participation, we believe that $75 is the minimum incentive necessary to recruit and retain the desired test
population. There is also a concern that if the incentive is not attractive enough to participants, there may be
a high no show rate and the test would need to be redone in order to obtain quality results. Redoing the test
would be much costlier than an effective incentive. For example, at the $75 incentive level, total incentives
would be $1,125 (15 participants x $75) verses a test redo at a cost of approximately $40,000.
8. BURDEN ESTIMATES:
Information Collection

Number of
Respondents

Frequency
(Responses
per
Respondent)

Number of
Annual
Responses

Response
Time
(hours)

Burden
Hours

Web-based Screener - English

140

1

140

.08

11

Phone-based Screener English
User Testing Sessions English
Totals:

80

1

80

.05

4

9

1

9

1.5

14

140* ////////////////////

229

////////////////////////

29

*Note: Respondents to the Phone-based screeners and Testing sessions are a subset of those who respond to
the Web-based screeners.
9. FEDERAL COST: The estimated annual cost to the Federal government is

$ 95,000
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10. CERTIFICATIONS:
CERTIFICATION PURSUANT TO 5 CFR 1320.9, AND THE RELATED PROVISIONS OF 5 CFR
1320.8(b)(3) :
By submitting this document, the Bureau certifies the following to be true:
(a) It is necessary for the proper performance of agency functions;
(b) It avoids unnecessary duplication;
(c) It uses plain, coherent, and unambiguous terminology that is understandable to respondents;
(d) Its implementation will be consistent and compatible with current reporting and recordkeeping
practices;
(e) It indicates the retention period for recordkeeping requirements;
(f) It informs respondents of the information called for under 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3):
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control number;
(g) It was developed by an office that has planned and allocated resources for the efficient and
effective management and use of the information to be collected;
(h) It uses effective and efficient statistical survey methodology; and
(i) It makes appropriate use of information technology.

CERTIFICATION FOR INFORMATION COLLECTIONS SUBMITTED UNDER A GENERIC
INFORMATION COLLECTION PLAN
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By submitting this document, the Bureau certifies the following to be true:
The collection is voluntary.
The collection is low-burden for respondents and low-cost for the Federal Government.
The collection is non-controversial and does not raise issues of concern to other federal agencies.
The results are not intended to be disseminated to the public.
Information gathered will not be used for the purpose of substantially informing influential policy
decisions.
The collection is targeted to the solicitation of opinions from respondents who have experience
with the program or may have experience with the program in the future.
The data collection is not statistically significant, the sample is not intended to be
representative, and the results will not be used to make inferences beyond the survey sample.
The results will not be used to measure regulatory compliance or for program evaluation.

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