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Recent Study Questions Viability of Proposed Paid Leave Law


A few months ago, a proposed paid leave law was introduced that would allow new parents to ‘borrow’ from their Social Security benefits in order to take twelve weeks of paid leave.  The plan would in essence let workers take an early withdrawal from their Social Security benefits and obtain paid leave, but these workers would then be required to defer their right to receive their Social Security benefits later in life. 

Several Republican Senators, including Joni Ernst, Mike Lee, and Marco Rubio voiced their initial support for the proposal and have appeared willing to attempt to turn the proposal into law.  However, critics quickly started to question whether it was wise to allow workers to borrow from their Social Security benefits now (to obtain paid leave), when many would likely need the Social Security benefits later in life (with little room to wait for any deferred time to pass).

Recently, the Urban Institute released a report in which it found that under this proposal, if a worker were to borrow from the Social Security benefits to obtain twelve weeks of paid leave, they would have to defer their Social Security benefits 20 to 25 weeks.  Ultimately, the report held that this could reduce a worker’s Social Security benefits by 3% over their lifetime.  Keep in mind, those figures apply only if a worker used this paid leave proposal once.  Having two, three, or more children (and using paid leave to care for them) could result in Social Security benefits being deferred for a year or more.

While the White House has yet to voice any opinion on this paid leave proposal, I question whether enough members of Congress will have the stomach to support this proposal (as it is currently written) if more and more reports like the Urban Institute’s are released.  If enough voters pay attention and consider the potential long term ramifications of what deferred Social Security benefits could mean for many workers, I find it hard to believe this proposal (again, as currently written) will find enough support in Congress to become law.


For additional information:  https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cnbc.com/amp/2018/04/20/gop-senators-weigh-plan-to-raid-social-security-for-paid-family-leave.html

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