FAQS: Frequently Asked Questions

1. Why Social Security Retirement Credits for Mothers and Other Primary Caregivers?

2. Is this relevant to me?

3. Who started this website?

4. How much Social Security income am I going to receive in retirement as a result of being an at-home mother?

5. How much Social Security income am I going to receive in retirement based on my own work record, and on the work record of my spouse?

5.1 Why and how do we want to make the dependent spouse benefit available to more women?

6. Why does it hurt to leave your paid job to care for your children?

7. What do we want and why?

8. Why does this problem exist?

8.1 Why would low income women benefit from caregiver credits?

8.2 Why would caregiver credits benefit African American and Hispanic women?

9. How long will it take to succeed in our mission?

10.  Who will pay for this proposal?

11. How does an idea like ours become a law?

12.What is Lobbyline.com?

1. WHY SOCIAL SECURITY RETIREMENT CREDITS FOR MOTHERS AND OTHER PRIMARY CAREGIVERS?

According to the author of the most relevant work on this topic to date, “motherhood is the single biggest risk factor for poverty in old age,” (Ann Crittenden, The Price of Motherhood, (New York: Henry Holt Publishers, 2001, p.6).

This website runs for mothers – millions of whom are at risk for poverty. An unfortunate consequence of honorable service to children is that most at-home mothers have performed paid work intermittently and for fewer years than necessary to receive Social Security benefits adequate to support their most elemental needs in old age.

This site unites the millions of elderly and young mothers who are at risk of impoverishment in old age due to motherhood. We are seeking – through organizing thousands of at-home mothers strong – to put an end to this injustice of Social Security.

Rearing one’s own children is not compensated work. Therefore, mothers who work at home make no contribution to the Social Security Trust Fund based on their work raising children.

So, yes, the Social Security system currently denies retirement benefits to mothers on the basis of raising children on a full and part time basis.

The theory is that although what mothers do is work, it is unpaid and therefore does not count toward retirement benefits under the Social Security program. Federal law requires workers to make payments into the Social Security Trust Fund by taxing the earnings of workers.

Full Social Security benefits accrue to those who have worked for thirty five years, and by the year 2030, only four out of ten women will be earning more Social Security benefits based on their own work records than on their spouse's. Women need their unpaid work reflected in Social Security benefits.

Other caregivers also deserve a secure retirement, bolstered rather than compromised due to the caregiver's decision to devote substantial time to care for needy relatives.

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2. IS THIS RELEVANT TO ME ?

If you are a mother, have a mother, or someday plan to become one – Yes!  Even if you have never been an at-home mom, the chances are that at some point in your life prior to retirement, you may have to decelerate or bring to a halt altogether your current work pace to care for a child or loved one.  This project is relevant to all mothers, since women comprise the majority of primary caregivers.

This website devotes itself to mothers – millions of whom at some point in the past, present, or future care for their children as their primary avocation, full or part-time. Rearing their children has been their central employment, the priceless rewards of being primary caregiver their only pay.

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3. WHO STARTED THIS WEBSITE ?

This website was started by Melody Webb with family and friends. Steve O'Sullivan has worked unceasingly to provide emotional and technical support. Melody Webb's commitment to this project stems from the fact that she herself is an at-home mother of 2 young children who finds this project indispensable to the future of this nation’s mothers, children and families.

The decision to stay at home came with certain tremendous costs. Melody Webb defied conventional wisdom and stayed at home to raise her children rather than return to a fast-paced career. She realized that in her field of work, she could not be the type of parent she wished to be and keep a job in her field. She accepted that fact and decided to stay at home with her children any way.

She was comforted to find that this is a growing trend. More and more women are sacrificing not only rewarding jobs but also earnings to do the more important work of raising children.

However, there is one cost that she was not prepared to accept when choosing to stay at home– financial destitution at retirement. Like millions of mothers – whether at home full or part-time, for 1 year of 21 years, she realized that time spent working at home unpaid, was time that she was not making contributions to her Social Security retirement credits.

She realized that this great nation values its mothers. She realized that once the pro-family leaders of America realized the great need and the great demand for laws providing Social Security tax credits to at-home moms – that then the lawmakers would create them.

So, Secure Mom, was launched. Melody Webb decided to take action and to spread the word to friends. Now she wants to include, involve and work with you.  To read more about the background of the people behind this site, visit here.

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4. HOW MUCH SOCIAL SECURITY INCOME AM I GOING TO RECEIVE IN RETIREMENT AS A RESULT OF BEING AN AT-HOME FAMILY CAREGIVER?

When claiming benefits at retirement, a woman or man who is married and whose spouse is living can expect the following.  Most at-home family caregivers will have one of two ways in which to claim retirement benefits. When seeking benefits, an at home caregiver chooses between whichever is greater – benefits based on her own work record or ‘dependent’s benefits’.  Dependent’s benefits flow from the work record of the higher earning spouse.  Dependent’s benefits equal half that of the spouse.  

While doing the most important job in the world, family caregivers set themselves up for a payoff of poverty in old age.  To calculate your estimated benefit at retirement, visit here.

5. HOW MUCH SOCIAL SECURITY INCOME WOULD I RECEIVE IN RETIREMENT BASED ON MY OWN WORK RECORD, AND ON THE WORK RECORD OF MY SPOUSE?  

By the year 2030, four out of ten women will still be earning more benefits based on their spouse's work records rather than their own.   At full retirement age - age 67 for those born after 1959 - you receive your full Social Security benefit, known as your PIA, Primary Insurance Amount. (Early retirement results in a permanent reduction in your full retirement age benefit).  The PIA is based on the AIME, the Average Indexed Monthly Earnings over the highest 35 different years of earnings, adjusted for inflation. 

The government uses a progressive formula in determining benefit levels, whereby those who earned the most during their working years, get back a smaller amount of their Social Security tax contribution than those who earn less money.  Earning income for at least 35 years is critical, since those who have earned $0 will see the average wage pulled down by the years of no earnings.

At retirement, to receive dependent’s benefits, you must have been married to the spouse on whose record you claim the benefits for at least ten years.  If married for 9 years, 11 months and 25 days, you are not entitled to spousal dependent benefits.  A caregiver who remarries after a first marriage of more than 10 years to a lower earning spouse, and before the age of 60 loses the dependent spouse benefit based on the higher earning spouse’s work record, unless the second marriage ends by death, divorce or annulment

A caregiver who has multiple marriages, each for 10 years or more, becomes eligible for benefits from all ex-spouse records, but the caregiver can only collect on one benefit check – most likely the highest will be chosen.  Similarly a worker who had several caregiver spouses, each for 10 years and 1 day of marriage, can have several spouses collecting on his or her record, assuming that none of them loses benefits because of remarriage.

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5.1 Why and how do we want to make the dependent spouse benefit available to more women?

Because the divorce rate has skyrocketed since the creation of the dependent spouse benefit, it is time to reflect this in the Social Security laws.   It is estimated that the length of the average marriage is close to 7 years. Currently the law requires 10 years of marriage before a spouse becomes eligible for the dependent spouse benefit. The dependent spouse benefit is one half the Social Security income to which the worker is entitled. Although this figure is half that received by the worker, it is still higher than the figure to which most women are entitled based on their own work record. 

The proposal supported by SecureMom includes making the spousal benefit available to beneficiaries who have been married for seven years. This proposal is one of the most significant Social Security reforms around for all women, particularly mothers. The majority of those claiming dependent spouse benefits are women. In addition, women rely upon Social Security benefits for the majority of their  income in retirement.  This initiative aims to increase the benefit levels of women, who are disproportionately poor in old age by reducing the number of years of marriage required to trigger a spousal benefit.

We support this proposal because it has myriad benefits for women, mothers, children and families.  This proposal would assist divorcee and widows and those who marry close to retirement age access increased benefit levels through their spouse's work record.  The initiative would ameliorate the effects of poverty on retired divorcees, retired widows and widowers and any dependents for whom they are responsible.  This proposal is projected to significantly increase the income of millions of poor elderly women in retirement.

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6. WHY DOES IT HURT TO LEAVE YOUR PAID JOB TO CARE FOR YOUR CHILDREN?

The Social Security system penalizes women for leaving their paid employment to raise their children. These mothers suffer devastating financial consequences in retirement.

The loss of income generated by a woman cutting back on or quitting a job to raise children, generates a larger wage gap between mothers and childless women than the wage gap between young men and women.

On average, the wage gap amounts to more than $1 million for a college-educated American woman. The pensions of American mothers are smaller than those of men and childless women. In fact, an American woman over sixty five has a more than two times greater chance of living in poverty as a man of the same age.

While all mothers who fail to pay into a retirement fund jeopardize financial solvency in old age, poor mothers face a risk that is manifold worse. Poor mothers, who are also largely single parents, face complete destitution at retirement age.

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7. WHAT DO WE WANT AND WHY?

Motherhood is the biggest risk factor for poverty in old age.  While mothers demand no pay for their work; at the very least they deserve security at retirement.  Currently, mothers and family caregivers face a drastically reduced Social Security benefit for every year that they earn little or no income while raising children or nursing elderly or ill loved ones.  Family caregivers, in essence, in return for their hard work, receive a penalty for taking care of their families. Our political leadership must grant Social Security earnings credits to mothers and all family caregivers for unpaid loving work caring for our nation’s neediest citizens. 

For toiling in the field of maternal child care, at the very least, at-home moms deserve a happy retirement. In their prime working years, these women have performed the priceless and uncompensated work of rearing children, building the very backbone of our nation’s future.

Mothers work the longest hours, under the most trying of conditions. All this yet mothers lack the protection of labor unions, trade associations and a seat at the table of special interests lobbies set up in the halls of the United States Congress. In sum, mothers are the most exploited members of this nation’s workforce. For, mothers produce and nurture to fruition the talent and energy that power our great economy.

One way to liberate mothers from financial dependency and vulnerability is to secure their basic needs in retirement. Providing Social Security earnings credits for the full and part time care of one’s children is an important step toward achieving justice for mothers.

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8. WHY DOES THIS PROBLEM EXIST?

Women generate fewer Social Security benefits than men, in part due to the significant wage gap between men and women; but principally because women work intermittently as a result of caretaking responsibilities.  As of 1993, only a little better than a third of women drew Social Security benefits derived from their own paid labor.  Most women do not generate high enough benefit levels to equal even half of that to which their spouse is entitled. This inadequate wage problem affects all mothers, all women  – rich and poor alike – whose primary job is to raise their sons and daughters or to care for other needy loved ones.  This problem is indefensible given the contribution that women make to the economy.  By some estimates, if we gave an overall monetary value to the unpaid care work performed primarily by women within families, it would equal a whopping $1 trillion, or 44% of the Gross national product in 1990.

This earnings credit reform would impute to caregivers $16,500 annual income for up to five years for unpaid part time and full time labor in the home caring for family members.  This means that $16,500 rather than $0 is averaged into the AIME, Average Indexed Monthly Earnings, at retirement.  The AIME is used to determine benefit levels.  In this manner, the proposal would ensure a higher benefit level for caregivers who would otherwise face drastic reductions in benefits.  Earnings credit reform would raise the retirement benefit level of at least 8 million citizens – primarily mothers, by an average of $600 per year.

8.1 WHY WOULD LOW INCOME WOMEN BENEFIT FROM CAREGIVER CREDITS?

Unmarried mothers and minorities experience the highest poverty rates at 15% to 22% and will experience an amelioration of poverty from the boosts to Social Security income that Caregiver Credits will provide.

Caregiver credits are projected to provide the greatest benefits to the lowest quintile of earners..  These earners receive the largest share of income from Social Security benefits at 82%

Caregiver credits will lift the income of unmarried mothers and minority mothers, who are disproportionately lower and moderate wage earners.

8.2 WHY WOULD CAREGIVER CREDITS PROVIDE BENEFITS TO AFRICAN AMERICAN AND HISPANIC WOMEN?

African American and Hispanic women experience disproportionate levels of poverty in old age as a result of motherhood.

 Thirty four percent of African American female heads of household live in poverty and thirty four percent of Hispanic women heading households live in poverty as compared to 20% of white female heads of household and 16.9% of white non-Hispanic female heads of household. Poverty rates for blacks is 22.1 and Hispanics is 21.2 [i

Nonmarried elderly persons and minorities have the highest poverty rates, ranging from 15% to 22%. When those with income between the poverty line and 125% of the poverty line (the near poor) are included, the rates for nonmarried persons and minorities range from 24% to 31%.(SSA)

The general elderly population experienced poverty at the rate of  22% and 9%  for African Americans poor and near poor (those w/in 125% of pov line);; 19 and 12% for Hispanics and  9 and 7%  for whites.

The median income of elderly African Americans is 12,333 Hispanics, 10544 for African Americans and for whites 1979.

Minority mothers depend more heavily upon the progressive benefit formula of Social Security that supplies a higher return in benefit levels relative to their contribution for lower and moderate wage earners than it does for higher wage earners.

Social Security provides the primary income support for African American and Hispanic women for reasons that include elderly African American and Hispanic mothers enjoy less private pension and asset income than their white counterparts and minority women disproportionately garner lower and moderate wages than their white counterparts

Social Security supplies a larger percentage of the retirement income for older African Americans, nearly 45% in 2000 and nearly 50% for elderly Hispanics  than it does for older whites (approximately 35%). 

9. HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE TO SUCCEED IN OUR MISSION?

Our goal is to first enlist Representative Julia Carson (D-Illinois), a champion of women’s rights, and powerhouse Senator Olympia Snowe to lead the effort in Congress.

Congresswoman Carson has worked diligently on behalf of women and children. Senator Snowe reigns as a pro-family advocate and a sensible choice to sponsor legislation in the Senate that grants Social Security tax credits to at-home mothers.

We aim to celebrate the Congressional passage of this legislation and Presidential signing into law on Mother’s Day 2004.  If Representative Carson and Senator Snowe act now, this pro-family provision of Social Security law can be made into law by next May and this nation can really pay tribute to its mothers on Mother's Day.

10. WHO WILL PAY FOR THIS PROPOSAL?

 The various proposals for creating a program of earnings credits include these.

 One proposal involves shared earnings in which $16,500 of spousal income would be imputed to the family caregiver and proportionately deducted from the worker, to cover the period of unpaid family caregiving for children and loved ones.  In this scenario, the Social Security tax contribution is paid by the spouse, whose AIME, earnings, are reduced in proportion to the earnings credited to the family caregiver.  The worker’s work record would reflect up to $16,500 fewer earnings, and the caregiver’s work record would be credited with $16,500 of earnings per year for up to 5 years.

A second proposal includes a voluntary caregiver opt-in to pay one half of the Social Security tax contribution on the $16,500 earnings credit.  Thus, the caregiver and their family would voluntarily pay approximately $1,000 per year, 6.1%, of the 12.2% tax on the $16,500 earnings credit.  The government would then match the payment, in lieu of an employer, paying a total of $1,000 per year for up to 5 years for every year of qualified caregiving.  The argument for government matching stands strong.  For, primary caregivers save the nation large amounts of child care, hospice, and elder care expenses through their loving unpaid labor.  Moreover, caregivers, maintain the foundation of the nation’s economy through the high quality of their labor. Their care work ensures that the nation’s human resources reach their fullest potential.

A third option allows the government to assume the entire cost of the $2,000 per year Social Security tax contribution on behalf of the unpaid family caregiver.  Given the financial status of the Social Security Trust Funds, it is our recommendation that the government avoid using the Trust Funds, and instead draw upon general revenues to pay for this program.

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11. HOW DOES AN IDEA LIKE OURS BECOME A LAW ?

Please, at your leisure download, print and read this lengthy, yet excellent description of how ideas like this one becomes a law. See how our laws are made.

12.  WHAT IS LOBBYLINE.COM?

Lobbyline.com is a start-up on-line advocacy initiative.  It is the umbrella project for SecureMom.com.  SecureMom.com is the first and currently the only subsidiary project of Lobbyline.com.  Please check back with Lobbyline.com in future for our second project, which will work to mobilize citizens to improve the quality of service delivery by physicians to patients.

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