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Bill to Protect Women’s Retirement Security Reintroduced

Legislation

Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), who is chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, along with Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-IL), have reintroduced legislation to bolster and provide protection for women’s retirement security. 

The Women’s Retirement Protection Act of 2021 (WRPA) would expand eligibility for employer-sponsored retirement plans to even more part-time workers—most of whom are women, according to the sponsors. It also would expand existing spousal protections to prevent one spouse from undermining a couple’s retirement resources without the other’s knowledge and consent. 

The legislation also includes grants to help women with low incomes and survivors of domestic abuse to receive retirement benefits that are owed following a divorce. 

“Even before this pandemic, women in America typically had less money saved for retirement, in part because they were paid less than their male counterparts for the same work throughout their careers,” Sen. Murray said in a statement. “Inequities, like investments, compound over time—which is why it is so critical we take action now to address how this pandemic and other challenges are undermining women’s financial futures.”

Sen. Murray and Rep. Underwood emphasize that even before the COVID-19 pandemic, women’s financial futures have been undermined by a number of factors. Citing data by the National Women’s Law Center, they note that the average woman loses more than $400,000 over a 40-year career due to pay inequality. For Black and Latina women, the career wage gap is even larger at $964,400 and $1,163,920, respectively. Women are also more likely to be part-time workers, which can limit their access to employer-sponsored retirement plans, the lawmakers further note. 

Women may also be prevented from securing the retirement resources they are entitled to following a divorce due to complex rules and legal fees, according to a 2020 Government Accountability Office report requested by Sen. Murray.  
 
According to a summary, the WRPA would:

  • expand existing spousal protections for DB plans to DC plans to prevent one spouse from making decisions that might undermine a couple’s retirement resources without the other’s knowledge and consent;
  • amend the SECURE Act to reduce the minimum retirement plan participation standards for part-time workers from three years with an employer to two years; 
  • increase access to information about retirement and savings tools by providing grants of at least $250,000 for community-based organizations to help provide information and financial tools to women who are of working or retirement age; and 
  • support low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse seeking retirement benefits by providing grants of at least $250,000 for community-based organizations that assist them in obtaining qualified domestic relations orders. 

“As women strive for economic equality in this country, we need to make sure they have the opportunity for stable, secure retirement. That includes ensuring a woman’s spouse cannot alter their shared retirement savings without her consent. I’m honored to work with Senator Murray to strengthen consumer protections for retirement that address the economic inequalities that compound throughout a woman’s life,” Rep. Underwood stated.   

In the House of Representatives, the lead cosponsors of the WRPA include Reps. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) and Donald Norcross (D-NJ). 

In the Senate, the cosponsors include Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Diane Feinstein (D-CA), Tina Smith (D-MN), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Richard Durbin (D-IL), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Cory Booker (D-NJ).