Reforming Social Security – Child Caregiver Credits?

The Center for Retirement Research at Boston College has released an issue brief, #18-15, Modernizing Social Security: Caregiver Credits.  The brief opens with the statement of the problem

Women still tend to work fewer years and earn less than men, which leads to less income in retirement. One reason is that women are often still the main family caregiver. Traditionally, Social Security has recognized this role by providing spousal and widow benefits for married women. Today, however, many women are not eligible for these benefits because they never married or they divorced prior to the 10-year threshold needed to qualify. Even those who are married are less likely to receive a spousal benefit, as their worker benefit is larger. Thus, many mothers receive little to no support to offset lost earnings due to childrearing.

The 10 page brief looks at how the topic is handled in other countries and discusses two avenues for resolution in the U.S.: (1) “[i]ncrease the number of work years that are excluded from benefit calculations … [and] (2) [p]rovide earnings credits to parents with a child under age six for up to five years.” The article concludes in part

It is easy to understand the appeal of crediting Social Security records to reflect lost earnings due to caring for a child. In the past, this activity was usually compensated for by the spousal benefit, but changes in women’s work and marriage patterns have left fewer eligible for it. A credit is also more appealing than a spousal benefit if the goal is to compensate for the
costs of childrearing, independent of marital status.