Statement of Joan Entmacher, Vice President for Family Economic Security before the Seniors Task Force

Statement of Joan Entmacher
Vice President for Family Economic Security, National Women’s Law Center
April 6, 2011

Women have long been more anxious than men about their economic security as they grow older -- and with good reason. They’re paid less than men.  They do most of the unpaid care-giving.  And so they have less money when they reach retirement.  What’s more, women live longer than men and face higher health care costs.  But if older women had good reason to be nervous before, the Ryan budget proposal, unfortunately, gives them grounds to be deeply afraid.

Women rely more than men on Social Security, which provides benefits they can count on as long as they live.  On guaranteed Medicare benefits. And on Medicaid assistance for long-term care and other health expenses. 

More than two out of three poor seniors are women.  So older women especially rely on safety net programs – on SNAP benefits (formerly Food Stamps) and meals on wheels.  On housing and energy assistance, so they don’t freeze in the winter or die of heat stroke in the summer.

The Ryan budget would devastate all these of programs, and more.

The Ryan budget slashes Medicaid by more than 25 percent and turns it into a block grant. It turns Medicare into a voucher program for future retirees – including women now in their early 50s.  It repeals the Affordable Care Act – so today’s Medicare recipients would have to pay more for prescription drugs and preventive care services.  It endorses the deep cuts to Social Security benefits proposed by the Bowles-Simpson report, and would change budget rules to allow cuts to Social Security to be pushed through Congress on a fast track. And it dismantles the SNAP safety net and slashes funding for domestic programs, including services for vulnerable elders and Social Security offices.

Overall, the Ryan budget cuts $6.2 trillion from federal spending.  That’s a hard number to comprehend.  So let’s talk about some numbers that women understand all too well:

• $12,000 a year.  That’s the average Social Security benefit for women 65 and older, compared to nearly $16,000 for men 65 and older.
• $4,500 a year.  That’s the average out-of-pocket spending for female Medicare beneficiaries, compared to $3,900 for male beneficiaries.  (These numbers are from 2006 – so are almost certainly higher for women and men today.)
• Seven out of ten.  That’s the percentage of seniors helped by Medicaid who are women.

Women will find it hard to understand how Representative Ryan could think that average Social Security benefits of $12,000 a year are too high.  Or that they can afford to spend more than $4,500 a year on out-of-pocket health expenses.

Women will also find it hard to understand how Rep. Ryan could propose slashing programs vital to millions of Americans of all ages, while proposing trillions of dollars in additional tax breaks for the very wealthiest and corporations. 

Or maybe they won’t.