An official website of the United States government
Here’s how you know
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock (
) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.
It is well known that women's social security benefits are lower than men's benefits. The difference reflects the lower lifetime earnings of women rather than any difference in treatment of men and women by program regulations. Part of the difference reflects zero or reduced earnings in years when women drop out of the labor force to take care of young children or disabled relatives. Some advocates think society should not penalize women who perform unpaid work in the home raising children by giving them lower social security benefits. Some believe that removing the effect of dropping out to care for children is a good policy to reduce poverty among older women. In 1990, 15.4 percent of women 65 and over were below the poverty line.
Share
Some content on this site is available in several different electronic formats. Some of the files may require a plug-in or additional software to view.
Top