Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF)

The Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) is a survey of American households that is sponsored by the Federal Reserve Board in conjunction with the Department of Treasury. Cross-sectional data are collected triennially by the National Opinion Research Center; panel data were collected from 1983 to 1989 and from 2007 to 2009. The SCF provides a comprehensive snapshot of the ­financial position of U.S. households, including balance sheet components, taxes, retirement accounts, financial attitudes and capabilities, and an array of social and demographic characteristics of use to researchers and policy makers. To assure representation of households with ­narrowly held financial assets, the SCF utilizes a dual-frame sample design with a geographically based random sample plus an oversample of wealthy households derived from the Internal Revenue Service ...