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Insider’s Report: Coronavirus Pandemic Could Impact Women’s Retirement Security
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The coronavirus pandemic has taken a disproportionate toll on women, especially women of color. And it has worsened inequities in health, caregiving, employment, wages and more.
And now experts predict hard-fought gains in gender equality could be reversed because so many women lost their jobs during the pandemic or were forced to stay home with their children after schools and child-care shuttered their doors.
That means the retirement challenges facing millions of American women right now could not only persist but may even worsen for future Social Security beneficiaries. On average, women live longer than men, yet their lifetime earnings are generally lower. Women take more time off work to care for family members, diminishing their ability to save — and lowering their average Social Security benefits. Pay inequity while they’re working and often reduced benefits once they retire means millions of women face retirement and health insecurity in their old age.
This isn’t just a cause for alarm for women, but all men who are concerned about their mothers, wives, sisters and daughters retiring with dignity and financial security.
Through the National Committee’s highly focused “Eleanor’s Hope” initiative, named in honor of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, we are advocating for legislation that addresses the inequities threatening millions of retired women, raising awareness through a strong media presence and working to support lawmakers who share our vision of retirement equity for women.
Eleanor Roosevelt, wife of President Franklin Roosevelt, was a key figure in several of the most important social reform movements of the twentieth century, including the New Deal and the Women’s Movement. Franklin and Eleanor’s son, James Roosevelt, founded the National Committee in 1982 and in doing so launched one of the most formidable national organizations responsible for protecting earned Social Security and Medicare benefits for American workers, retirees and their families.
It is the National Committee’s Roosevelt heritage and in the spirit of Eleanor’s work on women’s and social issues that our initiative honors her name. We believe that if she were alive today, Eleanor would be leading efforts to achieve parity in Social Security benefits, along with fighting for income equality, and caregiver credits in Social Security for women who leave the workforce to raise a family or care for their aging relatives.
Please support our important fight to strengthen women’s health, income and retirement security by signing our Petition to the Leadership of the Congress of the United States today.
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| Good Bills |
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The National Committee endorses the “Lower Drug Costs Now Act” (H.R. 3) which was reintroduced in the U.S. House of Representatives and would allow Medicare to negotiate directly with drug manufacturers for lower drug costs.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated this would save the government $450 billion in drug costs over ten years. (The savings from Medicare drug price negotiation could then help pay for vital improvements to the Medicare program that include coverage for basic hearing, vision and dental care — a longtime priority for the National Committee and other seniors’ advocates.)
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| Ask Web |
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Our resident Social Security expert, Webster Phillips — a Senior Policy Analyst for the National Committee and a 31-year veteran at the Social Security Administration — is here to answer your questions about Social Security.
You can either search our archives for valuable advice on a broad range of concerns or submit your question here.
This week's question is: My wife retired nine years ago at age 62. She has since become disabled. Can she file for disability benefits? If so, how does she go about it?
Click here to read the answer.
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| Take Our Poll |
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Should Congress pass legislation that provides Social Security credits for a worker who leaves or reduces his/her participation in the workforce to provide care to children under the age of six or to elderly family members?
Take our poll now!
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Eleanor's Hope
Learn more about our initiative to educate and advocate on critical women’s issues. |
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Donate Now
Your support sustains our campaigns in Washington to protect and strengthen Social Security and Medicare. |
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Coronavirus
Find valuable information, essential tips and warnings about COVID-19-related scams. |
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| Opinion: Medicare Should Cover Cost of Hearing Aids, Exams |
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Many American seniors suffer from some form of hearing loss. But millions of retirees can’t afford treatment because traditional Medicare doesn’t cover hearing aids, which can cost thousands of dollars each. (April 26, 2021, First published in The Detroit News, by U.S. Representative Debbie Dingel (MI-12) and NCPSSM President & CEO Max Richtman)
Read More →
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| Reinventing Senior Home Care With Infrastructure |
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“The President's plan stitches together a reinvented safety net. Most seniors prefer to stay home. It's cheaper, it's safer. But currently we don't have enough home health care workers to meet that need,” NCPSSM president and CEO Max Richtman tells radio show host, Rick Smith. (April 26, 2021, The Rick Smith Show, Radio Interview with NCPSSM President & CEO Max Richtman)
Listen Here →
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| Bipartisan plan to fix Social Security draws criticism |
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Many Americans have one big question when it comes to their retirement: Will Social Security still be there when I need it? Now, there are new signs that Congress could start to take steps to consider ways to repair the program. (April 20, 2021, CNBC, Lorie Konish)
Read More →
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