What Do Women's Groups Want?

Women's groups have been campaigning for changes in Social Security rules that would remedy some inequities. They include:

• A proposal to increase survivor benefits so that when one partner dies, the survivor would get 75 percent of the total amount the couple received when both were alive. That would help elderly widows avoid poverty.
• A proposal to give women Social Security credits for some of the years they spend caring for young children. That would help many women qualify for retirement benefits on their own work record or receive a larger benefit.
• Proposals to increase the benefits for divorced women from 50 percent to 75 percent of the husband's benefit and to reduce the minimum length of marriage required from 10 years to seven years.

There are, of course, pros and cons to all of these proposals. In addition, most of the recommendations to improve benefits for women involve higher costs.