As a member of the House of Representatives’ Committee on Ways and Means and Subcommittee on Social Security, I am committed to ensuring America’s seniors are economically secure. The National Women’s Law Center recently testified that despite Social Security, millions of older American seniors, especially women, are economically vulnerable.

Social Security Helps Provide Some Economic Security

Social Security is at the core of economic security for many Americans, and it plays a central role in reducing poverty among the elderly; without it, almost half of Americans over 65 would be categorized as poor. Social Security provides 53 percent of the income for single women over 65, compared with 38 percent for single men. And, for almost half of older single women, Social Security provides over 90 percent of retirement income.

Despite Social Security, 2.4 million women have difficulty making ends meet. There are multiple reasons for women’s greater economic vulnerability in retirement. Women earn lower wages than men, and they spend more time out of the labor force caring for children and elders. These two factors combine to produce lower lifetime earnings, which reduce retirement income from pensions, savings, and Social Security. Additionally, women generally live longer than men: over a longer lifespan, assets are depleted, income other than Social Security is eroded by inflation, and medical needs and costs increase.

Improving Retirement Security among Older Women

At a recent hearing on retirement security, the National Women’s Law Center offered two potential ways to improve retirement security for older women. The first proposal is to improve the minimum benefit for low lifetime earners. By linking the minimum benefit to wages and making adjustments such as credits for years of caregiving, we could increase the minimum Social Security benefit and help improve the economic situation of millions of American women.

The second proposal is to improve benefits for surviving spouses. Currently, household Social Security benefits drop by 33 percent to 50 percent at widowhood. The cost of maintaining a household decreases when there is only one person to support, but it does not fall by half, or even a third.

As this article went to press, Congress has passed a revised economic stimulus package that extends a larger helping hand to seniors. The stimulus package provides rebates to over 20 million seniors. The expanded measure now has expanded eligibility to provides recovery rebates to anyone who receives at least $3,000 in Social Security income, self-employment income or veterans’ disability payments - including payments to survivors of disabled veterans.

Contact Me

Readers who wish to write me about Social Security or other federal issues can send a note by mail to 300 E. 8th Street, Suite 763, Austin 78701, by e-mail to lloyd.doggett@mail.house.gov, or through my website at www.house.gov/doggett.