Questions on Women and Minorities

[National Dialogue Moderator <moderator>]

The panelists and participants in the Roundtable on Women and Minorities
have compiled a number of questions for the Current Legislative Proposals
Roundtable. We would appreciate hearing your responses. We hope you can
squeeze them into your busy schedule! Thanks to you all,

Maureen West, moderator
Laurie Maak, facilitator

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* What are your broad approaches to benefits and their levels for women
(and men) in diverse family situations?

* Do you wish enactment of a proposal that would be adequate in itself to
meet the retirement needs of current workers? Or do you favor an initiative
that is to supplement pensions, savings and other means, private and
governmental, of financial support?

* How should we address the fact that within 30 years, we will have only 2
workers for every retiree?

* Do you wish to provide incentives for individuals to save or do you wish
to concentrate on strengthening the safety net? If it is the former, at
what price to the safety net?

* Is equity provided between single and dual earning couples?

* What is the approach to benefits on divorce?  How does it work for a
person divorced after a short time (ex. 7 years), a middle term (ex. 15
years), and a long term (ex. 25 years)?

* What is the benefit to a survivor when one person in a retired married
couple dies?  Does it permit the survivor to maintain the same living
standard as the couple?

* Does your legislation do anything to provide credit for years of
caregiving, and how does it treat an individual who combined years of work
and years of caregiving?

* What about homemakers who become disabled. There is nothing in our system
for them or their families, unless they have sufficient wage earning
history.

* How will it affect poverty rates?

* Does it provide adequate support for the most vulnerable, the low
earners, those with intermittent work history, and single women (who lack
access to the benefits of a higher-earning male).?

* What is the approach to the management of disability and pre-retirement
survivor benefits?

* How do you provide a better benefit package for a woman who's worked in a
low wage job and hasn't had access to a pension plan?

* Would the reform give workers more freedom over their retirement options?
In other words, would a worker be able to choose her own retirement age,
would she be able to choose how she would like to receive retirement
benefits (lump sum, annuity, etc.), would she be able to choose to share
her retirement savings with her children or a local charity?

* Would the proposal result in a better rate of return on payroll taxes? In
other words, would the proposal give workers a better deal for the dollar?

* Would the worker, should she die before retirement, be able to leave her
retirement savings to her spouse or children?

* Is the reform fair and affordable? In other words, would the proposal be
a self-funded system or would it place financial expectations and payment
burdens on future generations? Is the cost of the reform paid equally
across generations or is one generation expected to pay more than others?