PRESS RELEASES
Social Security Is a Women's Issue
March 24, 2005
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Women must be very wary of proposals put forth by the current administration in Washington DC, to "fix" Social Security. Women are the majority of all Social Security recipients. Approximately 3 out of 4 of the recipients are women over the age 85. Older women are twice as likely as men to live in poverty and to depend on Social Security as their sole support.
Privatization of Social Security is risky and expensive. It is estimated that the costs of Social Security are just 1% of benefits, compared to 12-14% for private insurers. Creating private accounts by diverting Social Security taxes, while cutting benefits and raising the retirement age to make up for lost revenues would be devastating.
Existing benefits important to women would not be available under privatization. For example, Social Security replaces a higher proportion of low-wage workers' income when they retire. Under a private plan, this progressive aspect of Society Security that provides a buffer for the poor, who are disproportionately women, would be lost.
Lifetime benefits are especially important to women because upon reaching the age of 65, women have a life expectancy of 19.2 years compared to 15.6 for men. Further without the protection of cost-of living adjustments in benefits, even a modest 3% inflation rate would mean cuts in the purchasing power of a $100 benefit to $74 over 10 years and to $55 after 20 years. Inflation-adjusted private annuities are non-existent, and lifetime annuities, if available, would be extremely expensive. This would be devastating for older women who exhaust their assets before death.
"Women and all seniors need a steady income they can count on, not the booms and falls of the market. Impact on women would be disastrous. We must guard against changes that will further impoverish women and use this opportunity to strengthen Social Security for women" said Marcia Pappas, President of NOW - New York State.
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