More on Women and Social Security
September 29, 1999
On September 24, The Wall Street Journal's Greg Hitt reported on Margaret
Martin, a North Carolina native who survives on "life's blessings" as much as
on the mere $600 she receives in her monthly Social Security check, which is
not enough to even lift her above the poverty level.
Like Margaret Martin, thousands of elderly women live in poverty because Social
Security cannot provide enough for them. But with trillions of dollars in unfunded
liabilities to future Baby Boomer retirees, there is little prospect the current
system can even maintain benefits, much less raise them for women like Margaret
Martin.
Hitt's headline was "Elderly Women's Hope Fades for Social Security Overhaul."
There is indeed little hope for improvement of any kind under the current system.
But there is a better solution for women in retirement: privatization.
While Social Security privatization featuring personal retirement accounts
would benefit everyone, Cato's Darcy Olsen has shown the particular benefits
of privatization for women, be they married, single, divorced or widowed.
Greater Financial Security for Women with Personal
Retirement Accounts.
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