ADVISORY

FROM THE COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS
Subcommittee on Social Security

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, Contact: (202) 225-9263
January 27, 1999
No. SS-2

Shaw Announces Second Hearing in the Series on
Impacts of the Current Social Security System

Congressman E. Clay Shaw, Jr., (R-FL), Chairman, Subcommittee on Social Security of the Committee on Ways and Means, today announced that the Subcommittee will hold the second day in a hearing series on impacts of the current Social Security system. On this occasion, the Subcommittee will examine Social Security protections for women. The hearing, which began on Tuesday, February 2, 1999, will be continued on Wednesday, February 3, 1999, in the main Committee hearing room, 1100 Longworth House Office Building, beginning at 2:30 p.m. Subsequent hearing days will be announced separately.

In view of the limited time available to hear witnesses, oral testimony will be from invited witnesses only. Witnesses will include Social Security experts and representatives of organizations interested in women's retirement security. However, any individual or organization not scheduled for an oral appearance may submit a written statement for consideration by the Committee and for inclusion in the printed record of the hearing.

BACKGROUND:

Working and earnings patterns of women are often interrupted by childbearing or care of older relatives. These interruptions afford women less opportunity to accumulate pension savings for retirement. As a result, many women retire with little or no pensions savings. By the mid-1990s, only 18 percent of senior women received pension income, with annual benefits of only 40 percent of men's. Moreover, women have longer life expectancies than men, and many are economically vulnerable during retirement.

This economic vulnerability is partially offset by several features of the current Social Security program that are particularly important to women. These features include uninterrupted lifetime benefits, cost-of-living adjustments, progressive benefit formulas, and commitment to support spouses and survivors. Although these features provide women with important insurance during retirement, many women receive low monthly benefits from Social Security because of their relatively shorter working careers and lower lifetime earnings. In 1995, women received an average monthly benefit $190 lower than men's. Because one out of five elderly women rely on Social Security as their only source of income during retirement, women are twice as likely to live in poverty as men (13 percent versus 7 percent, respectively).

In announcing the second hearing day, Chairman Shaw stated: "Women make great sacrifices for American families at home and in the workforce every day. Despite these often heroic efforts, many women will be forced to live out their retirement years in poverty. We are committed to protecting the safety net provided by Social Security for women today, and exploring how best to modernize the program to better protect women retiring tomorrow."

FOCUS OF THE HEARING:

The second hearing day will focus on how the current Social Security program affects women's incomes in retirement, including Social Security's success in promoting financial security for women. The Subcommittee also will consider witness recommendations for improving the retirement security of women.

DETAILS FOR SUBMISSION OF WRITTEN COMMENTS:

Any person or organization wishing to submit a written statement for the printed record of the hearing should submit six (6) single-spaced copies of their statement, along with an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect 5.1 format, with their name, address, and hearing date noted on a label, by the close of business, Wednesday, February 17, 1999, to

A.L. Singleton, Chief of Staff, Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives, 1102 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515. If those filing written statements wish to have their statements distributed to the press and interested public at the hearing, they may deliver 200 additional copies for this purpose to the Subcommittee on Social Security office, room B-316 Rayburn House Office Building, by close of business the day before the hearing.

Each statement presented for printing to the Committee by a witness, any written statement or exhibit submitted for the printed record or any written comments in response to a request for written comments must conform to the guidelines listed below. Any statement or exhibit not in compliance with these guidelines will not be printed, but will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.

1. All statements and any accompanying exhibits for printing must be submitted on an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect 5.1 format, typed in single space and may not exceed a total of 10 pages including attachments. Witnesses are advised that the Committee will rely on electronic submissions for printing the official hearing record.

2. Copies of whole documents submitted as exhibit material will not be accepted for printing. Instead, exhibit material should be referenced and quoted or paraphrased. All exhibit material not meeting these specifications will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.

3. A witness appearing at a public hearing, or submitting a statement for the record of a public hearing, or submitting written comments in response to a published request for comments by the Committee, must include on his statement or submission a list of all clients, persons, or organizations on whose behalf the witness appears.

4. A supplemental sheet must accompany each statement listing the name, company, address, telephone and fax numbers where the witness or the designated representative may be reached. This supplemental sheet will not be included in the printed record.

The above restrictions and limitations apply only to material being submitted for printing. Statements and exhibits or supplementary material submitted solely for distribution to the Members, the press, and the public during the course of a public hearing may be submitted in other forms.

The Committee seeks to make its facilities accessible to persons with disabilities. If you are in need of special accommodations, please call 202-225-1721 or 202-226-3411 TTD/TTY in advance of the event (four business days notice is requested). Questions with regard to special accommodation needs in general (including availability of Committee materials in alternative formats) may be directed to the Committee as noted above.