Yesterday, Associated Press reported on a study that showed that 4 out of 5 workers are not saving enough for retirement and that women are at a significant disadvantage in this area. (http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/25480689/). The study, done by Hewitt Associates, showed that while both men and women contribute to retirement plans, women have an 8% greater shortfall in savings. Why are women at such a disadvantage? The study answers this question with the wage differences of men and women, as well as a longer lifespan. However, the study stands out in its acknowledgement of a lesser-realized reason for the retirement savings difference: "women tend to be in and out of the work force more frequently for family reasons, leading to breaks in savings."

But the real reason that women are at a disadvantage for saving for retirement is because our tax and labor laws make it that way. Women work part-time at a much higher rate than men because of care-giving responsibilities for children or elderly family members. Working part-time gives them more flexibility to raise children and care for their families' needs. However, part-time workers are less likely to qualify for employer-provided insurance. When this happens, they are forced to purchase their own health insurance outside the workplace, which our tax laws discourage through much higher tax burdens. Women are also more likely to switch jobs than men because of care-giving responsibilities, which lead to either a complete loss of benefits or, at the least, a significant decrease of benefits.

Kim Strassel, editorial writer for the Wall Street Journal and co-author of NCPA's book Leaving Women Behind, points out that "our major economic institutions – including tax law, labor law, and employee benefits law, as well as Social Security, and retirement policies – were designed for families with a full-time worker and a stay-at-home spouse. By comparison, they punish every other arrangement."

The National Center for Policy Analysis has long recognized this need of the modern workforce. Are there solutions to fix this problem so that women can save for retirement, just as easily as men? Absolutely! We need to update tax and labor laws so that they are applicable to today's working people. We need to, at the minimum:

• Allow part-time workers to accept lower wages in exchange for health care benefits;
• Create a level playing field under the tax law so that people that purchase health insurance on their own obtain just as much tax relief as people who get health insurance through their employer; and
• Create portable health and retirement benefits, so that people are not penalized when they switch jobs.

Why can't we allow these women to have portability, security, and flexibility now?! You tell me!

Recently, this bipartisan article appeared in the Washington, DC Roll Call.  I wanted to share it with you.  Although, it does not mention our key issues:  portable benefits, flexible benefits, flexible workplaces, tax fairness and health care for small businesses; we are working with both sides of the aisle to move these issues forward!  We appreciate Congresswoman Capps and Congresswoman McMorris Rodgers's hard work on issues that impact women, families and small business.

March 12, 2008

By Reps. Lois Capps and Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Special to Roll Call

The Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues is celebrating its 31st anniversary this week, with a gala tonight honoring its leaders. As we observe this significant milestone, it's important to recognize what a remarkable time this is for American women and pause to appreciate how far we have come as women both in Congress and across the country.

Consider this: Just 87 years after American women received the right to vote in federal elections, women now are expected to cast more than half of the votes in the upcoming 2008 election. This high level of participation shouldn't surprise anyone. Already, women manage more than half of household incomes, control more than half the money in the New York Stock Exchange and make most of the health care decisions in the family, all while trying to balance the demands of work and family life.

This enhanced influence of women in all aspects of American life is reflected in the increased power of women in Congress. Most notably, we saw the inauguration of the first female Speaker last year. We also have 73 women serving in the House of Representatives. And 35 House committees and subcommittees are chaired by women or have female ranking members.

This is a far cry from 31 years ago when the Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues was founded. At that time, women in the House didn't enjoy the same amount of influence and respect in the halls of Congress as they do today. There were far fewer female Members, and their male colleagues largely wrote them off. Infamously, one of our founding Members – then-Rep. Patricia Schroeder (D-Colo.) – was forced to share a seat, literally, on the Armed Services Committee. This underscored the larger fight facing women to gain a seat at the tables of power in Congress and across the country.

In the face of this adversity, the women of Congress joined together across party lines to form the Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues. We found that, by uniting as women, we can often transcend the traditional boundaries of partisan politics and advance our shared agenda of addressing issues important to women and families.

In 2007, working together, we passed legislation that protected genetic information nondiscrimination, highlighted International Women's Day, honored the important role the Girl Scouts play in helping young girls, recognized the important contributions of women serving in the military and celebrated the anniversary of Title IX. Additionally, we continued to bring attention to important women's health issues such as breast cancer and cervical cancer.