Changing Family Structure and Social Security Reform PDF Download

Author: Bing Yung-Ping Chen
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Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Dramatic changes have occurred in family patterns and in the role of women in the workplace during the last 30 years or so. More and more women have entered the paid labor force. Fewer people marry, they marry later, they divorce more often and sooner, and they remarry less often. Increasingly, many more are not marrying at all. Unmarried opposite-sex couple households have grown greatly; and cohabiting adults of the same sex have increased their ranks. Some of the changes in family patterns have been more pronounced among blacks and Hispanics than among whites. Since Social Security provides income not only to retired and disabled workers but also to their eligible dependents and survivors, changing familial relationships will affect the scope and value of Social Security protection. But the effect on the role of Social Security of changing family structure has not been generally recognized. If Social Security reform does not include altering its benefit provisions in light of changing family structure, then Social Security will become a less effective income protection mechanism than originally planned. The purpose of this paper is to identify the changes in the structure and composition of families and to discuss the implications of those changes for Social Security protection. The central question is, "Who will receive less protection or no protection if Social Security's benefit provisions are not changed, while family patterns have changed?" The policy challenge is how best to modify the relevant provisions. Because older women constitute one of the most financially vulnerable groups of people, how widows and divorcees fare under Social Security has become a major issue, with older women in poverty as the predominant concern. A related concern is two-earner couples versus one-earner couples when their Social Security benefits are calculated. The paper will review a number of policy proposals for addressing these issues, offer several caveats that need to be taken in policy development, and suggest a two-tier system for Social Security. Section II summarizes important changes in family patterns in the last three decades or so. Section III points out the implications of family pattern changes for the availability of Social Security benefits. Section IV is concerned with changing family structure among racial and ethnic minorities. Section V deals with the issue of poverty among older women. Section VI briefly analyzes several policy proposals; Section VII highlights cohabitation. Section VIII discusses the role of minimum benefits. Section IX offers some caveats for policy development. Section X proposes a two-tier Social Security system. Section XI offers some concluding remarks.