How Social Security & Paid Leave Policies Affect Women’s Prospects for Healthy Lives October 31, 2011 Heidi Hartmann, Ph.D. President, Institute for Women’s Policy Research Research Professor.
Download ReportTranscript How Social Security & Paid Leave Policies Affect Women’s Prospects for Healthy Lives October 31, 2011 Heidi Hartmann, Ph.D. President, Institute for Women’s Policy Research Research Professor.
How Social Security & Paid Leave Policies Affect Women’s Prospects for Healthy Lives
October 31, 2011 Heidi Hartmann, Ph.D.
President, Institute for Women’s Policy Research Research Professor of Women’s Studies and Public Policy, The George Washington University Co-Editor,
Journal of Women, Politics & Policy
www.iwpr.org
Presenter Disclosures
“No relationships to disclose”
About IWPR
Founded in 1987, the Institute for Women’s Policy Research conducts rigorous research and disseminates its findings to address the needs of women, promote public dialog, and strengthen families, communities, and societies.
IWPR has worked on paid leave issues since its founding, and has conducted research on paid sick days for nearly a decade.
IWPR has worked on women’s employment, retirement, Social Security, and access to health care and other women’s health issues since its founding
Men’s and Women’s Labor Force Participation Rates Are Converging Over Time (1950-2010)
Figure 1: Men's and Women's Labor Force Participation Rates, 1950-2009
90 80 86.4%
MEN
72.0% 70 60 50
WOMEN
40 33.9% 30 Source: U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey, 2010c 59.2%
60 000
Men’s and Women’s Wages Are Slowly Converging in the United States
Figure 3: Median Annual Earnings for Full-Time Year-Round Men and Women Workers (in 2009 dollars), 1960-2009 MEN
50 000 40 000 30 000
WOMEN
20 000 10 000 0 1960 1963 1966 1969 Source: U.S. Census Bureau 2010.
1972 1975 1978 1981 1984 1987 1990 1993 1996 1999 2002 2005 2008
Race and Gender Differences are Still Very Significant. White and Asian American Men Earn the Most. Hispanic Women Earn the Least.
Average Annual Earnings of Women Employed Full-Time/Year-Round in the United States, by Race and Ethnicity, 2009
$51,405 $51,760 $37,496 $31,393 $38,533 $42,331 $31,824 $27,181 White Men Asian Men Black Men Hispanic Men White Women Asian American Women Black Women Hispanic Women
Public Policies that have Increased Women’s Employment Opportunities
1935 Wagner Act
(established right of labor unions to bargain collectively for workers)
1938 Fair Labor Standards Act
(established the minimum wage and time-and-a-half premium for hours > 40 per week)
1963 Equal Pay Act
(must pay women and men in substantially equal jobs the same wage)
1964 Civil Rights Act
(Title VII on employment included sex from the beginning)
1967 Executive Orders 11246 and 11375
contractors) (amended to include prohibition of discrimination based on sex by federal
1972 Title IX of the Education Amendments
(requires nondiscrimination by all schools receiving federal aid)
1978 Pregnancy Discrimination Act
experience child birth) (if employers provide leave, or other benefits, for workers with other health conditions--heart attacks, car accidents--they must do the same for pregnant women and women who
1993 Family and Medical Leave Act
(provides up to 12 weeks of job-guaranteed, unpaid leave for family care or own illness to workers with 1 year of job tenure and at least 1250 hours of work in prior year at firms with more than 50 employees—covers about ½ the workforce)
Marriage is More Common among Middle-/Upper-Income Families
Share of Families in Each Income Group by Family Type, 2009 Source: IWPR analysis of U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, 2010 Annual Social and Economic Supplement (October 25, 2011).
Health Benefits of Paid Sick Days
Reducing Contagion
Improving Care for Prevention and Controlling Chronic Conditions
Reducing Emergency Room Use
Percentage without Access to Paid Sick Days
Note: Private sector, 18 years and older Source: Institute for Women’s Policy Research analysis of the 2009 National Health Interview Survey, Person and Sample Adult File
Contagion
Workers without paid sick leave are more likely to attend work while sick.
Presenteeism has real costs and impacts.
Seasonal influenza spread is greater, impacting businesses and their workers.
During the H1N1 pandemic, 8 million workers went to work sick and infected as many as 7 million people.
Public sector workers, who have more paid sick days than private sector workers, missed fewer work days overall in the H1N1 pandemic than did private sector workers.
Preventive Care
Preventive care such as immunizations, cancer screenings, and tobacco cessation can reduce health care costs while improving outcomes.
In 2005, over 130 million Americans had a chronic health condition; managing chronic conditions is a key strategy for controlling health care costs and improving outcomes.
Paid sick days facilitate preventive care, including for children
Reducing ER Use
Many ER visits are avoidable; 14% of visits are non-urgent.
Emergency room visits cost much more than a primary care visit, inflating health care costs.
Paid sick days help workers make appointments in advance and during business hours to see primary care providers.
IWPR analysis shows that workers with paid sick days are less likely to visit the ER.
Unnecessary ER Visits in USA
Private-Sector Workers, Estimated Percent Without PSD Percent With PSD Workers with no PSD Workers with PSD Annual ER Use Without PSD Annual ER Use With PSD Current ER Use Preventable ER Use Cost Premium of ER Use Over Primary Care
Annual Cost of ER Visits Preventable with Paid Sick Days
104,697,285 42% 58% 43,972,860 60,724,425 0.3817
0.3515
38,129,076 1,327,980 $825.57
$1,096,347,000
In the Recession, Women’s Share of the Labor Force Increased and Nearly Reached Equality, but has Since Declined in the Recovery 72 000 70 000 68 000 66 000 70,884
Monthly Number of Women and Men on Payrolls (Seasonally Adjusted), January 2007 – September 2011 MEN
Men's employment recession Women's employment recession Men's payroll jobs Women's payroll jobs 67,352
WOMEN
66,463 64,871 64 000 62 000 Official recession from December 2007 (peak of business cycle) through June 2009 (trough of business cycle) as determined by the 60 000 Source: IWPR analysis of U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics (October 7, 2011)
More women than experience difficulty paying their living expenses; both women and men experience the most difficulty paying for health care and health insurance Current Difficulty Affording Living Expenses Among Women and Men Aged 60 and Older. (Percent responding "Very difficult" or "Somewhat difficult") 39% Paying for health care and health insurance 29% 35% Monthly utility bills 25% Gasoline or other transportation 26% Paying for food 0% Source: IWPR/Rockefeller Survey of Economic Security 2010. (N = 1,094) 10% 20% 14% 20% 30% 33% Women Men 40% 50%
Impact of the Recent Recession
Women and men are increasingly worried about not having enough to live on in retirement; more women are worried than men Percentage of Women and Men Claiming to Be Worried About Not Having Enough to Live On, 2007-2010 Note: Bars show percent responding “A lot” or “A fair amount.” Source: IWPR analysis from Figures 2.3 and 2.4 in Hess, Cynthia, Jeff Hayes, and Heidi Hartmann. 2011. “Retirement on the Edge: Women, Men, and Economic Insecurity After the Great Recession.” Washington, DC: Institute for Women’s Policy Research.
IWPR analysis of the Rockefeller AmericanWorkers Survey 2007 (N=1,772 women) and IWPR/Rockefeller Survey of Economic Security 2010 (N=1,514 women).
Women’s Worries about Retirement, 2007–2010 80% 60% 40% 40% 51%
Women
33% 36% 55% 63% 39% 58% 20% 0% Not Being Able to Afford Health Care Having to Go to a Nursing Home Social Security Being Cut Back Not Having Enough Money to Live On Note: Bars show percent responding “A lot” or “A fair amount.” Source: IWPR analysis of the Rockefeller American Workers Survey 2007 (N=1,772 women) and IWPR/Rockefeller Survey of Economic Security 2010 (N=1,514 women).
2007 2010
Social Security Basic Facts
675.5 billion of Social Security goes to 53 million people:
• •
36 million -
retired members - 69.3% workers and their family 10 million disabled families - 18.5% workers and their •
OR
6 million 12.2% • • • survivors of deceased workers -
4 million children
(including disabled adult children and students aged 18-19)
21 million men 27 million women
Income Sources for Women Aged 65 or More, 1989-2009
3% 10% 12% 9% 67%
Income Sources for Men Aged 65 or More, 1989-2009
3% 15% 20% 7% 56%
Women’s eligibility as workers has increased; More women are dually entitled by both marriage and own work; Fewer women are eligible solely because of marriage 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30%
57% 4% 39%
20% 10% 0% 1960 1970 Source: Social Security Administration
Women's Entitlement Status, 1960-2009 (All women aged 62 and older)
1980 Dependents Only Dually Entitled Workers Only
Year
1990 2000
27% 28% 45%
2009
Pluses of Social Security for Women
Everyone with at least 10 years’ work at $4,480 per year is fully covered.
Almost 95% of today’s young women are expected to be fully covered by age 62.
90% of women aged 65 and older receive Social Security benefits.
Provides benefits to wives whether they worked for pay or not, former wives (provided they had a ten-year marriage), and widows of workers. Also provides benefits to three million minor children (and care-taking spouses) of deceased or disabled workers.
Fully adjusted for inflation (especially important for long-lived women).
Returns more to lower earning than higher earning workers (redistributive).
Not subject to market risks or investment decisions.
Some Disadvantages for Women in Social Security
Based on 35 years of earnings; non-earning years are averaged in as zeroes.
Unmarried women who did caregiving have no access to spousal benefits.
There are no benefits for caregiving outside of marriage.
A married, retired worker must choose between own benefit and spousal benefit.
What a Caregiving Credit Could Look Like
Provide an earnings credit for every year with a child under 6 (available to both parents and/or non married partners) Example: Parents of young children would receive an earnings credit of at least $15,000 per year even if they earned nothing.
Reward work effort so that earners have somewhat more $ on their record than non earners.
Earnings $0 $7,500 $10,000 $15,000 $20,000 $30,000 Credit $15,000 $20,000 $21,500 $22,500 $23,000 $30,000
We need to improve Social Security for Women to:
Account for women’s increased work effort Account for caregiving outside marriage and new family structures Increase benefits for vulnerable women who live alone Strengthen Social Security and increase benefits for women, not cut back on Social Security just as economic insecurity is increasing.
For More Information
Contact Me:
Heidi Hartmann, Ph.D., President, Institute for Women’s Policy Research [email protected]