Sean Patrick Maloney: “Social Security is this Nation's foremost family protection plan. As the 106th Congress considers proposals to reform…”

“Social Security is this Nation's foremost family protection plan. As the 106th Congress considers proposals to reform the current Social Security system, it is critical that we take the different circumstances of women into account. I have several examples of women that have faced problems in their elder years and have relied heavily on Social Security. I am just going to put them in the Record. But I would like to point out that women earn less than men. For every dollar men earn, women earn 74 cents, which translates into lower Social Security benefits. In fact, women earn an average of $250,000 less per lifetime than men, considerably less to save or invest in retirement. Women are half as likely than men to receive a pension. Twenty percent of women versus 47 percent of men over age 65 receive pensions. Further, the average pension income for older women is $2,682 annually compared to $5,731 for men. Women do not spend as much time in the workforce as men. In 1996, 74 percent of men between the ages of 25 and 44 were employed full time, compared to 49 percent of women in that age group. Women spend more time out of the paid workforce than men do in order to raise families and take care of aging parents, and this is reflected in their Social Security payments. Women live longer than men by an average of 7 years. Social Security benefits are the only source of income for many elderly women.”