Survey Methodology

The COUNTRY Financial Security Index is a bi-monthly report created by COUNTRY Financial and compiled by Rasmussen Reports, LLC, an independent research firm. The COUNTRY Index is based on telephone interviews of and survey responses from approximately 3,000 U.S. adults.

The questions used to compile the COUNTRY Index are intended to gauge how secure Americans feel about their financial affairs in relation to their stage in life and expected future needs. The COUNTRY Index records the relative security of respondents on a scale of 0-100 with 100 indicating the highest level of security. For the overall rating, responses are weighted such that life circumstances are made to correlate with commonly accepted financial needs. For example, the financial security rating of married respondents with teenage children would include a factor for college expense preparation while surveys of elderly respondents with no dependants would not.

The margin of error for the sample is approximately +/- 3 percentage points with a 95 percent level of confidence. Sampling is only one potential source of survey error. Other factors, such as question wording, survey design, and overall methodology may impact the reported results.

The method for calculating the COUNTRY Index may be subject to revision depending on data tracking history and correlations with movements in the U.S. economy.

Survey Results are provided for informational purposes only. You should consult a professional of your choice for advice tailored to your own situation.

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