Should Social Security Add a Childcare Credit?

Over at MarketWatch, Alicia Munnell of Boston College writes on proposals – recently endorsed by Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton – to provide Social Security credits to individuals who take time out of the workforce to care for a child (or a dependent adult such as a parent).

The goal of the child care credit is to raise the woman’s own retirement benefits, which is increasingly important given the substantial share of women retiring today who have never married or are divorced.  The specific proposal in H.R. 4529submitted by Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-FL) would provide up to five child care drop-out years when calculating an individual’s Social Security benefits.  That means women would be able to average their earnings over 30 rather than 35 years; fewer years of zero earnings will produce a higher average and a bigger retirement benefit.

You can read the whole column here.