Challenge to Social Security (eBook)

Front Cover 1
A Challenge to Social Security: The Changing Roles of Women and Men in American Society 4
Copyright Page 5
Table of Contents 8
List of Figures and Tables 14
Contributors 18
Acknowledgments 20
Director's Foreword 22
Chapter 1. Introduction 26
The Current System: How It Works 27
Historical Conflicts in OASI 29
The Controversy over Spouse Benefits 34
A Look at Alternative Reforms 38
Conclusions 45
Chapter 2. Concepts Underlying the Current Controversy about Women's Social Security Benefits 46
Basic Concepts in Social Insurance and Related Programs 47
Changing the Social Security System 54
Summary 62
Chapter 3. Supplemental OASI Benefits to Homemakers Through Current Spouse Benefits, a Homemaker Credit, and Child-Care Drop-Out Years 66
The Dual Entitlement Provision: An Implicit Means Test 67
The Distribution of Dependent Benefits among the Aged 69
Substituting an Explicit Credit for Spouse Benefits 76
Evaluation of Alternative Systems 88
Appendix 90
Discussion 91
Chapter 4 .Earnings Sharing: Incremental and Fundamental Reform 98
Spouse Benefit versus Earnings Sharing 99
The Current Earnings-Sharing Proposals 113
Conclusion 116
Discussion 117
Chapter 5. Women and a Two-Tier Social Security System 126
Major Problems Surrounding the Treatment of Women under Social Security 127
The Two-Tier System with Earnings Sharing 132
Impact on Women 140
Conclusion 145
Appendix 146
Discussion 149
Chapter 6 .The Double-Decker Alternative for Eliminating Dependency under Social Security 156
The Double-Decker Alternative for Eliminating Dependency under Social Security 158
The Simulation 168
The Immediate Impact of Adopting a Double-Decker System 172
The Overall Social Security Benefit Structure and the Objectives of Old-Age Income Maintenance Policy 182
Discussion 186
Chapter 7. Disability Insurance under Proposed Reforms 194
Introduction 194
Definitions and Concepts 195
The Objectives of Disability Insurance (DI) 197
The Effects of Extending DI Coverage 201
Administrative Feasibility of Extending Coverage 210
Conclusion 213
Discussion 215
Chapter 8 .Occupational Pension Plans and Spouse Benefits 226
Historical Background 226
Current Pension Plan Benefits for Spouses 231
Rights of a Spouse to Employee Pension Entitlements on Dissolution of Marriage 237
The Future of Spouse Benefits under Occupational Pension Plans 244
Summary 248
Discussion 249
Chapter 9. The Housewife and Social Security Reform: A Feminist Perspective 254
Chapter 10. Incremental Change in Social Security Needed to Result in Equal and Fair Treatment of Men and Women 260
Nature of OASDI and Medicare 260
History of Equal Treatment of Men and Women under Social Security 261
Criticism of Present Treatment of Men and Women 262
Proposed Solutions and Their Weaknesses 264
Solutions Through Incremental Change 267
Conclusion 269
Chapter 11. The Changing Nature of Social Security 272
Glossary 278
References 284
Index 290