Untitled Document

SAVING SOCIAL SECURITY:
WHAT DO WOMEN HAVE AT STAKE?

“We must save Social Security for the 21st century…We should reduce poverty among elderly women, who are nearly twice as likely to be poor as our other seniors.”

President Bill Clinton
January 19, 1999

Social Security is America’s family protection program. President Clinton and Vice President Gore are committed to saving Social Security for all Americans and recognize that Social Security is especially important for women. In his 1999 State of the Union address, the President emphasized the need to reduce poverty among elderly women—particularly widows, who have a poverty rate nearly twice the overall poverty rate for older Americans.

Social Security is especially important for women.

Women represent 60 percent of all aged Social Security beneficiaries and almost 75 percent of beneficiaries aged 85 and older.
Elderly unmarried women—including widows—get 51 percent of their total income from Social Security.
Without Social Security benefits, the poverty rate for elderly women would increase fourfold, from 13 percent to 52 percent.

Women face greater economic challenges in retirement.

Women have lower lifetime earnings than men do—often due to their care-giving responsibilities.
Women reach retirement with smaller pensions and other assets than men do.
Poverty rates among unmarried elderly women are high (19 percent as compared to 4.6 percent for married elderly women). This is especially true for widows who make up 45 percent of all elderly women. Divorced women are a growing share of the elderly population, and their poverty rate is higher than the overall elderly poverty rate.
Women tend to live longer than men. A woman who is 65 years old today can expect to live to 85, while a 65-year-old man can expect to live to 81.

The current Social Security system has a number of features that help women meet the challenges of retirement.

Social Security provides an inflation-protected benefit that lasts as long as you live.
The progressive benefit formula provides a higher replacement rate for workers with lower earnings.
Social Security provides extra benefits to spouses with low lifetime earnings, which helps many women, even if they did not work outside the home.
Social Security provides benefits to elderly widows. Seventy-five percent of elderly widows receive benefits based on the earnings of their deceased spouse.
Social Security provides benefits to spouses of any age who care for children under 16 if the worker retires, becomes disabled, or dies. Women represent 98 percent of recipients receiving benefits as spouses with a child in their care.

Social Security will continue to be important for women in the future.
As the labor force participation rates of women continue to rise, women in the future will reach retirement with much more substantial earnings histories than in the past. The percentage of women receiving benefits based solely on their own earnings history is expected to rise from 37 percent today to 60 percent in 2060. However, this means that 40 percent of women will continue to receive benefits based on their husband’s earnings, as spouses or widows.

Women must be kept in the forefront of Social Security reform.
As discussions of Social Security reform continue, the current characteristics and needs of elderly women must be considered, as well as the changes in their needs that are likely as more women with long work histories reach retirement. In addition, reforms should consider how Social Security can best fit into the overall retirement security package. While the special provisions in the Social Security that are particularly beneficial to women must be protected, the President also recognizes that there are inequities in the system that can be fixed.

Women’s concerns—like all Americans’ concerns—must be an integral part of the public debate about the future of Social Security. Public education and dialogue is crucial to achieve Social Security reforms that truly benefit women and their families.