Congressional Democrats want to change Social Security to address problems faced by older single women, who are disproportionately impoverished in retirement.
Under a proposal from Washington Sen. Patty Murray released Tuesday, unmarried, divorced and widowed Americans would get bigger Social Security checks, while those who were previously married would be able to access a percentage of their ex-spouses’ benefits. (Under current law, those married for less than a decade are ineligible for their spouses’ benefits.)
“Over the past several decades, the workforce has changed, families have changed, and our economy has changed, but in some important ways, Social Security hasn’t kept up,” Murray told TIME.
– TIME