[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 89 (Friday, June 28, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6320-S6321]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          STATEMENTS OF INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS

      By Mrs. LINCOLN:
  S. 2700. A bill to amend titles II and XVI of the Social Security Act 
to limit the amount of attorney assessments for representation of 
claimants and to extend the attorney fee payment system to claims under 
title XVI of that Act; to the Committee on Finance.
  Mrs. LINCOLN. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Social 
Security Attorney Fee Payment System Improvement Act of 2002. This bill 
will help ensure that all Social Security claimants have equal access 
to representation.
  Unfortunately, the Social Security Administration's disability 
determination system has become far too complex for most claimants and 
their families to successfully navigate on their own. Claimants are 
confronted by a confusing, time-consuming and multi-level process, 
which, more often than not, results in a denial of their claim. 
Appealing a disability claim is a daunting task for anyone without the 
necessary legal experience, but for individuals who are in poor health 
or disabled, the procedural hurdles that must be cleared in order to 
obtain disability benefits can seem insurmountable. As a result, many 
of the hard working men and women applying for Social Security 
Disability Insurance, SSDI, benefits or Supplemental Security 
Insurance, SSI, benefits choose to retain an attorney to help them with 
their appeal. The bill I am introducing today will help both SSDI and 
SSI claimants get the benefits to which they are entitled by extending 
the attorney fee direct payment system to both programs, a change that 
is long overdue and that enjoys the support of both claimants' 
representatives and disability advocates.
  Additionally, this bill corrects a serious and unintended consequence 
of the Ticket to Work Act of the 106th Congress. Although this plainly 
was a landmark piece of legislation, the disproportionately onerous 
nature of the attorney fee assessment provisions contained therein have 
caused a dramatic decline in the number of legal professionals who can 
afford to represent individuals seeking Social Security disability 
benefits. As a result of such a decrease in the number of attorneys 
skilled in this area of the law, the most vulnerable claimants, those 
with serious physical or mental impairments, those with financial 
challenges, and those who do not or cannot understand the disability 
claims process, are often left to find their own way through SSA's 
labyrinthine bureaucracy. This bill seeks to reverse this disturbing 
trend and to encourage attorneys to continue providing this extremely 
important service by enacting rational and equitable modifications to 
the fee assessment system.
  I want to say that my long-term goal is to reform the Social Security 
disability claims process so that it is not so difficult and 
frustrating for claimants. However, I recognize that this will not 
happen overnight and, in the near term, it is essential that we enable 
citizens to cope with this onerous process.
  I hope my colleagues will join me in ensuring that the hard working 
men and women of America obtain adequate legal representation as they 
pursue their Social Security disability claims. As my colleagues know, 
individuals with disabilities rely on Social Security disability and/or 
Supplemental Security Income benefits for life-sustaining income. We 
must do all we can to support their efforts to obtain benefits they 
need and deserve. This bill does just that.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. KENNEDY (for himself and Ms. Snowe):
  S. 2707. A bill to amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act 
of 1974 and the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide comprehensive 
pension protection for women; to the Committee on Finance.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, it's a pleasure to join Senator Snowe in 
introducing the Women's Pension Protection Act of 2002. In this new 
millennium, women still work in a world of ``less'' and ``fewer.'' Less 
pay and fewer benefits, especially retirement benefits. Less job 
security and fewer opportunities for advancement. Less respect for 
their work and fewer rewards for their contributions.
  A major challenge of our time is to protect women's retirement 
security. The legislation we introduce today meets this important goal 
by giving women greater say in the management of 401(k) funds, giving 
widows more generous survivor benefits, and granting divorced spouses 
expanded opportunities to receive a share of their former spouses' 
pension after a divorce.
  The challenge of retirement security is overwhelmingly a women's 
issue. The Older Women's League's annual Mother's Day Report concludes 
that women's pension problems are rooted in the realities that shape 
their lives: the reality of the wage gap, the reality of caregiving 
responsibilities, and the reality of jobs that offer few benefits, 
especially pensions.
  Almost 40 years after the Equal Pay Act was passed, women still earn 
only 73 percent of what men earn. You can't save what you don't earn. 
And the impact of the wage gap extends far beyond the years that women 
participate in the workforce. Over a lifetime, the wage gap adds up to 
an average of $250,000 less in earnings for a woman to invest in her 
retirement. The result is that one in four older women are living in 
poverty.
  Women represent less than half of the paid workforce, but comprise 
almost two-thirds of those working in minimum wage jobs. This should 
not come as a surprise to anyone, but women are 96 percent of all 
childcare workers, 97 percent of receptionists, and 90 percent of 
secretaries. Because so many of these jobs are non-union, part-time, 
and low wage, women are much less likely to be covered by a pension 
plan than men.
  At the same time, women are much more likely to spend time out of the 
workforce to tend to family caregiving responsibilities. In fact, the 
average woman now spends 12 years out of the workforce over her work 
life. That is time that she is not earning a pension, vesting in a 
pension or contributing to Social Security. This absence from the paid 
workforce translates into inadequate retirement income and an increased 
financial dependency on their spouses at retirement. A woman who drops 
out of the labor market for as few as five years, can end up with as 
much as 30 percent less in her defined contribution plan.
  Although the pension laws are gender neutral, pension policy 
unintentionally discriminates against women. Women continue to be less 
likely to be covered by a pension plan and less likely to receive 
pension benefits. And even when women earn pensions, their benefits 
tend to be only a fraction of what men receive because of pension 
formulas that penalize them for moving in and

[[Page S6321]]

out of the workforce. Only 13 percent of women age 65 and over receive 
a pension, and among that small group the median annual pension is only 
$3,000. These challenges are made even more acute by the fact that 
women live longer than men and have a greater need for retirement 
income than men.
  We need to make our pension system fairer, especially for women. 
Married women often count on their husband's retirement benefits to 
support them in old age, then outlive their husbands and frequently 
their husbands' retirement income.
  Over the last twenty years, reform of the Federal pension law has 
seen some improvement with changes that allow a widow to continue 
receiving defined benefit pension payments. The Retirement Equity Act 
of 1984 requires defined benefit pension plans to pay survivor benefits 
unless a spouse waives this protection. But this protection does not 
extend to 401(k) and other defined contribution plans.
  The Women's Pension Protection Act offers simple, common sense 
improvements in our private pension system to ensure that retirement 
savings programs better respond to the realities of women's working 
lives. This bill will help women like Joan Mackey of Salem, New Jersey, 
who testified recently about the difficulties she has faced in trying 
to collect survivor benefits from her former husband's pension plan. 
Ms. Mackey's ex-husband wanted her to collect survivor benefits after 
his death, but because Ms. Mackey didn't know to ask for a widow's 
benefit at the time of their divorce, the plan now refuses to pay.
  Sadly, Joan Mackey is not alone. Congress must do all it can to 
protect women's retirement security and address inequities in our 
pension laws that primarily affect women. I urge my colleagues to 
support the Women's Pension Protection Act.
  Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, I rise to join with Senator Kennedy in 
introducing The Women's Pension Protection Act of 2002 to improve the 
retirement security of women.
  As Americans live longer, achieving financial security can be a 
particular challenge for women. Women live, on average, seven years 
longer than men but earn less money over their lifetime, and as women 
continue to be society's primary caregivers, they continue to lose time 
from the workplace during their prime earning years. The result? Just 
40 percent of women have pensions, compared with 47 percent of men. Of 
those with pensions, women retirees receive only about half the pension 
benefits that men receive--on average, $4,200 annually compared to 
$7,800 for men.
  With less time to invest in their retirement, women are frequently 
unable to establish a solid nest egg for future years. Women sometimes 
rely on their spouse's pension for essential savings in later years. If 
a marriage dissolves, as roughly half of marriages in America have, 
this can deal a terrible blow to a women's retirement plans.
  For elderly women the situation worsens, as they are three times as 
likely than men to outlive their spouses. Lower pensions can make it 
difficult for women to make ends meet in their later years. Tragically, 
almost one in five nonmarried elderly women, 17 percent, live in 
poverty today. These facts help explain why our pension laws should 
reflect the reality and needs of our workforce.
  The bill we are introducing today is aimed at meeting the unique 
financial needs of women. It recognizes the economic partnership of 
marriage, ensuring that women are included in financial decisions that 
effect their future. Under this bill, spousal consent would be required 
before participants can withdraw lump sum payments of pension benefits 
401(k) plans. Similar requirements already exist for spouses of workers 
covered by traditional pension plans. This bill also encourages more 
investment into annuities, which pay a guaranteed stream of lifelong 
income and help to prevent poverty. Spouses will have the option of 
selecting a 75-percent survivor benefit, in addition to the current 50-
percent survivor benefit.
  This legislation also enhances the financial security of women by 
requiring plans to offer the option of increasing survivor benefits 
from 50 percent to at least 75 percent of her husband's retirement. It 
ensures that a widow can receive her husband's pension regardless of 
when the husband dies or whether he applied for the pension to begin. 
And it closes a glaring loophole by ensuring that pension plan 
administrators will abide by the division of pension benefits ordered 
by the courts in a divorce proceeding, regardless of when the order is 
given.
  Ultimately, this legislation will strengthen our country's future by 
giving the tools women, and men, need to secure their retirement 
future. We have an opportunity to improve the benefits to our workforce 
and enhance opportunities for women in a way that makes sense. I urge 
my colleagues to join in supporting this legislation.

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