It’s sad but true. In terms of retiring successfully, the odds are not in women’s favor.
Senator Patty Murray, D-Washington, is on a mission to do something about it.
She’s previously introduced legislation addressing the retirement gender gap, and most recently wrote a letter to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), calling attention to the tedious process required to divvy up retirement assets following a divorce.
“I write today to request that the U.S. Government Accountability Office examine the process by which pensions or retirement accounts are divided following a divorce or legal separation. I understand that it is an expensive and complex process to obtain a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO),” Senator Murray wrote to GAO Comptroller Gene Dodaro.
QDRO refers to a court order that grants a person the right to a share of their former spouse’s retirement benefits.
In her letter, the Senator expresses concern about the accessibility of QDROs and questions whether residents of certain communities are at an unfair disadvantage when it comes to obtaining one.
Specifically, she asks the GAO to look into the typical timeline, costs and barriers of the process, to identify opportunities for improvement and to consider how the procedure impacts certain segments of the population, “for example, lower income women, women of color and victims of domestic violence.”
“Though the divorce rate has leveled out, approximately 40 percent of all marriages still end in a divorce. I understand that these factors may result in many people leaving money on the table and those people are disproportionately women. Ensuring divorcees receive the retirement benefits they are entitled to is particularly important for women’s economic security, as divorce can have a clear adverse effect on their income and women already are more likely to face poverty in retirement,” Senator Murray wrote.
This week’s letter to the GAO is far from Murray’s first attempt to bolster females’ retirement security.
In 2015, the Senator, who’s also a ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, introduced the Women’s Pension Protection Act (WPPA). The proposed legislation intended to extend protections to participants in 401ks and similar plans, requiring spousal consent before a married worker could take money out of a retirement account. As it stands, only defined benefit plans are protected.
In addition, it aimed to provide grants to community-based organizations to improve financial literacy, expand access to retirement benefits to part-time workers and help disadvantaged women obtain QDROs. While the first iteration stalled in Congress, Murray reintroduced the WPPA earlier this month.
She sponsored a bill back in March, as well. The Stronger Safety Net Act proposed updates to Social Security that would “extend benefits for children in families facing hardship and enhance benefits for workers—particularly women who are more likely to face financial hardship in retirement,” according to a statement from HELP.
Jessa Claeys is a writer, editor and graphic designer.