Murray Vows to Fight for Retirement Security for Workers, Seniors, and Families at Conference on Aging
MURRAY: “Systemic challenges leave 1 in 10 older women living in poverty–we must make sure women are better able to have a secure retirement.”
Approximately 1.1 million people in Washington state don’t have access to retirement savings plans at work
(SEATTLE, WA) – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) spoke at the White House Conference on Aging in Seattle, focusing on ways to strengthen retirement security for workers, seniors, and families. Murray also laid out the systemic financial challenges that women face in retirement, leading to one in ten older women living in poverty. Also in attendance was U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez, the Health and Human Services Regional Director Susan Johnson, King County Executive Dow Constantine, Assistant Secretary for Aging Kathy Greenlee, and other elected officials and advocates.
Senator Murray, the Ranking Member on the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, is a lead cosponsor of the Older Americans Act Reauthorization Act of 2015. She ushered the bill through Committee approval and continues to work with her colleagues on both sides of the aisle to move forward in reauthorizing the Older Americans Act to increase investments for programs like Meals on Wheels, increase support systems to protect seniors from abuse, and provide resources to senior centers, disease prevention, family caregiver support, and other key programs for seniors. Senator Murray is also the lead sponsor of the Healthy Families Act, which would allow workers in businesses with at least 15 employees to earn up to 56 hours or seven days of job-protected paid sick leave each year.
In Washington, 462,000 people between ages 45-64 have less than $25,000 in savings. Nearly half of the oldest Baby Boomers – who will turn 65 next year – are at risk of not having sufficient retirement resources to pay for basic retirement expenditures and uninsured healthcare costs. Women face unique challenges trying to prepare for retirement. One of the biggest problems is the pay gap. On average, women earn just 78 cents for every dollar a man earns, and that amounts to over $650,000 on average in lost income over a lifetime. In Washington, 1.1 million people do not have access to a retirement plan, and 77.4% of workers employed by businesses with fewer than 100 employees lack access to one.
Key excerpts from Senator Murray’s remarks as prepared:
“The truth is, there are seniors across our state and the nation who are spending their golden years just scraping by. There are workers across the country who are ready to retire, but aren’t financially ready to.”
“We need to grow our economy from the middle out, not the top down. And our government should work for all families, not just the wealthiest few. That’s especially true for seniors – who, after a lifetime of hard work, deserve to live healthy, full, and financially secure lives.”
“At the top of the list, we need to protect Social Security for this generation and the next. And we need to make some updates to prevent inequality in the system that affect women’s retirement benefits.”
“Of course, addressing the inequalities that women face during their working years is also absolutely essential. It’s time to finally ensure women get equal pay for equal work. It’s time to raise the minimum wage to give low-wage workers a fighting chance to: support their families, get ahead, and put away some money for retirement.”
“It’s time to make more progress on paid sick leave, so women aren’t penalized for taking care of their families. I recently introduced a bill called the Healthy Families Act to allow workers to earn paid sick days. Those solutions to empower women in today’s workplace will pay off for their golden years to come.”
“Right now, more than 1.1 million people in our state don’t have access to a retirement savings plan at work. But we know that when more businesses offer retirement plans, it gives workers an easy way to save for retirement.”
“I’m following closely the effort here in Washington to create a Small Business Retirement Marketplace, so more workers can access retirement accounts. The bipartisan bill in the Washington state House and Senate would make it easier for small business owners to offer employees voluntary, privately managed individual retirement accounts, or IRAs. And back in the other Washington, I will be focusing on ways to help women prepare for retirement.”
“Because like FDR foresaw 80 years ago, the structure of retirement security is still incomplete. We need to start the next phase to address the pressing challenges that seniors face today. I’m going to be fighting to make sure more workers, more seniors, and more families have access to a healthy, independent, and financially secure retirement.”
Senator Murray’s full remarks as prepared:
“Thank you, Myriam, for that fantastic introduction, and thank you for all you do for the Alzheimer’s Association.
Your passion and dedication is a reminder for us all to always keep up the fight for a cure. And I want to thank those of you in this room.
Every day, you fight for the needs of older Americans. And through your advocacy and hard work, you help make sure that we in Congress help more seniors have access to a healthy, secure retirement.
I’m so glad to be able to welcome Secretary Tom Perez to Washington state. You’ll be hearing from Tom in just a little while. He has been an outstanding leader at the Department of Labor.
I’ve worked with him for a number of years, and I know that creating opportunities for working families is what gets him up in the morning.
He’s been a champion for job training programs and apprenticeships – two areas where Washington state leads the nation, and he’s making sure people saving up for retirement get a fair shake.
The truth is, there are seniors across our state and the nation who are spending their golden years just scraping by.
There are workers across the country who are ready to retire, but aren’t financially ready to.
And there are workers, who after the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, have been struggling to make ends meet, let alone save for retirement.
I recently heard from Cathy Knight, who works in Olympia. A few years ago, Cathy said she got a taste of what it’s like to have serious doubts about her future in retirement.
Her husband was unemployed. On one income, they were trying to pay the bills, pay for health insurance, and pay for college tuition for their younger son. Every month, Cathy said they had to dip further and further into their retirement savings.
She said she would stay awake at night, worrying how they were going to make it all work.
Cathy is like so many Americans today. Thankfully, in recent years we’ve been able to put some policies in place that pulled our economy back from the brink.
We’ve made some progress, but we still have a long way to go. When I hear stories like Cathy’s, it reaffirms for me what we should be working toward in Congress.
We need to grow our economy from the middle out, not the top down. And our government should work for all families, not just the wealthiest few.
That’s especially true for seniors – who, after a lifetime of hard work, deserve to live healthy, full, and financially secure lives. That’s why I’m so glad to be here today to take part in the White House Conference on Aging.
Over the years, these conferences have been catalysts for developing aging policy in our country. And in 2015 we’re celebrating some pretty major milestones for those policies.
Eighty years ago, we created the promise of Social Security – one of the greatest legislative achievements of the 20th century.
In 1965 we came together to make sure older Americans had guaranteed access to quality health care as they age.
That’s the year we established Medicare and Medicaid. Also, 50 years ago, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Older Americans Act into law to help seniors live healthy, independent lives.
I’m proud that since earlier this year, I’ve been able to work with some of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to reauthorize the Older Americans Act. That bill will increase investments for programs like Meals on Wheels for seniors here in our state.
It will increase support systems to protect seniors from elder abuse. And it will provide resources senior centers, disease prevention, and family caregiver support.
I worked with my colleagues to pass the Older Americans Act out of my committee unanimously. And I hope we can send that important piece of legislation to the President’s desk soon.
As important as those milestones are – today’s seniors are facing some daunting challenges.
Many of today’s seniors simply don’t have enough savings. They’re relying on thin Social Security checks that barely last until the end of the month.
Sometimes, they’re forced to choose between paying for groceries or paying for a prescription.
And our nation’s retirement crisis is especially punishing for women. Too often, it’s the women who struggle most with financial hardship in retirement, more so than men.
And that’s the aspect of retirement security that I really want to focus on today. Because in our country, one-in-ten older women live in poverty. The problem is nearly two times worse for women of color.
Why is this? Well, for one, women live longer than men. So, they are more likely to outlive their retirement savings.
But there are also some systemic challenges we need to address to make sure women are better able to have a secure retirement.
Social Security benefits have not kept up with the changes in our nation’s workforce. It was designed for families that had just one spouse working outside the home.
Today, more than ever, both spouses work. More women joining the workforce have propelled our economy forward. But the way Social Security benefits are calculated hasn’t kept pace.
In fact, under the current system, a widow of a couple, where both spouses worked, receives fewer benefits than the widow of a couple where just one spouse worked. So there are some common-sense updates we need to make.
But in truth, the challenges that women face as they age begin long before they even think about retiring. During their working years, women earn less than men.
This pay gap leads to a retirement gap. Today, women earn just 78 cents for every dollar a man makes. And women are more likely than men to work low-wage jobs. In fact, women comprise two-thirds of all minimum-wage workers.
It’s plain and simple math: Lower wages make it hard to support a family, let alone save for retirement. Also, women are more likely than men to leave the workforce, or shift to part-time work, so they can care for a sick parent or raise a child.
Cycling in and out of the workforce prevents many women from earning a pension or saving for retirement. In fact, caregivers lose an average of more than $650,000 over their lifetime in reduced salary and retirement benefits.
I have to repeat that, because it’s just staggering: Women who leave the workforce to take on caregiving responsibilities lose out on $650,000 over their lifetime. Imagine how far that money could go for a woman in retirement, who has to pinch pennies just to put food on the table.
It’s clear that the inequality that women face earlier in life – it adds up. And it follows women into retirement.
These challenges won’t just go away. In fact, they’ll only get worse until we resolve to do something about it for seniors today, for those who want to retire in the next few years, and for future generations.
At the top of the list, we need to protect Social Security for this generation and the next. And we need to make some updates to prevent inequality in the system that affect women’s retirement benefits.
Last year, I introduced a bill called the RAISE Act. It would help solve those discrepancies in Social Security that, for too long, have slashed benefits for widows and divorced women.
My proposal would make sure widows and widowers from two-earner families receive the same survivor benefits as those from single-earner families.
It would also allow spouses who were married less than ten years to receive spousal and survivor benefits. Those changes won’t just protect women. It will strengthen and expand Social Security for today and tomorrow’s seniors.
Of course, addressing the inequalities that women face during their working years is also absolutely essential.
It’s time to finally ensure women get equal pay for equal work.
It’s time to raise the minimum wage to give low-wage workers a fighting chance to support their families, get ahead, and put away some money for retirement.
It’s time to make more progress on paid sick leave, so women aren’t penalized for taking care of their families.
I recently introduced a bill called the Healthy Families Act to allow workers to earn paid sick days. Those solutions to empower women in today’s workplace will pay off for their golden years to come.
We also need to expand access to retirement plans. Right now, more than 1.1 million people in our state don’t have access to a retirement savings plan at work. But we know that when more businesses offer retirement plans, it gives workers an easy way to save for retirement.
And, it helps taxpayers. Because when more people have financial security in old age, they won’t need to lean on social safety net programs.
I’m following closely the effort here in Washington to create a Small Business Retirement Marketplace, so more workers can access retirement accounts.
The bipartisan bill in the Washington state House and Senate would make it easier for small business owners to offer employees voluntary, privately managed individual retirement accounts, or IRAs.
And back in the other Washington, I will be focusing on ways to help women prepare for retirement.
We need to look at helping part-time workers – who are disproportionately women – save for retirement, by expanding access to employer savings plans.
Right now, most employers don’t allow part-time workers to participate in their 401(k) plans. That needs to change.
We need to help protect women’s retirement savings when, for example, they go through a contentious divorce. We also need to focus on improving financial literacy.
With fewer traditional pensions, people will need to make some difficult financial decisions in retirement. So, increasing financial literacy will be very important.
When Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act all those eighty years ago, he called it “a cornerstone in a structure, which is being built, but it is, by no means, complete.”
When Lyndon Johnson signed the Medicare bill into law, he recalled that same FDR quote. To President Johnson, Medicare was an addition to that original cornerstone.
And we kept building that structure to include Medicaid and the Older Americans Act. Those programs laid the foundation for seniors to have solid footing in America’s middle class.
Now, it’s time to build on that foundation. Because like FDR foresaw 80 years ago, the structure of retirement security is still incomplete.
We need to start the next phase to address the pressing challenges that seniors face today.
I’m going to be fighting to make sure more workers, more seniors, and more families have access to a healthy, independent, and financially secure retirement.
I’m going to continue fighting to grow our country from the middle out, not the top down.
And I’m going to keep fighting to build an ever-stronger foundation for seniors today – for families across Washington state and the nation, and for generations to come.
Thank you.
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