For Pension Funding Solution, New Jersey Voters Favor Millionaire Tax, Shift to 401(k)s : Survey

A recent poll, released Tuesday by Quinnipiac University, reveals that the majority of New Jersey residents (64 percent) support levying an addition tax on millionaires to help pay down the state’s pension debt.

Additionally, a majority of residents (55 percent) also support a shift from a defined-benefit pension system to a defined-contribution plan.

The findings seem to suggest that support for pension funding solutions often crosses party lines: some Republican voters find themselves supporting tax increases, while some Democrats find themselves supporting benefit cuts.

More on the results from NJ.com:

Christie may not like a millionaire’s tax, but the majority of the 1,428 registered voters polled by Quinnipiac University do, according to the poll.

The Legislature’s plan to institute a millionaire’s tax for three years would have generated an estimated $723.5 million. The state is scheduled to make a $681 million payment into the pension system this year, though unions have sued for a higher contribution.

At the same time, the poll found that 55 percent of voters said public workers should be moved from pension plans onto a 401(k)-like defined contribution plan, while 35 percent said they shouldn’t. Support for that change is much higher among Republicans, with 72 percent in favor and 17 percent against, than Democrats, 49 percent of whom favored traditional pension plans and 42 percent of whom did not.

Read the full polling results here.

Photo by Elektra Grey Photography