Please discuss. Why don't home family caregivers earn SS credits for those years?

[Grasswire2]

They leave the work force out of necessity to care for family members.

Those years are a personal sacrifice in terms of retirement security. The work is not paid, and therefore does not count for Social Security pension.

But home work is work, too! More often falling on women, but also the work of men.

The alternative is to stay in the work force, pay someone to care for your family -- a someone who will earn SS credits for the work!

Would there be a downside to just assigning credits to those who must leave the work force to do "home" work?

[blue neen]

1. You really make a good point.

People should get some kind of social security credit for being a caregiver.

[Grasswire2]

2. give credits with some simple formula that...

...recognizes the usual expense of a family according to the number of ppl in the family that require caregiving?

I'm sure there would be a fair way to do this.

[Bev54]

3. Canada is the same and it has been a source of angst for many

My younger brother had Down Syndrome and when my parents died, we siblings decided he would not go to a home but live with one of us. For him to go to a home it would cost the government approx $3,000 per month for his keep in a group home, but they would not pay anything for the family to take care of him. After considerable fighting we did get some allowance for respite care for holidays but very restrictive in the number of days. Mostly he went to one of our homes but disruptive on him, as we all lived in different towns/cities. He has since passed but they really need to pay family caregivers who prefer to give their family members a better life with family instead of government run homes.

[Grasswire2]

4. YES!

That is true, too!

A family member of mine is a developmentally delayed adult now whose parents were urged by my aunts to place in a group home. Think of the cost of that over the lifetime of the person. She was kept at home with siblings and her single mother, now elderly. All those years of devoted care with someone watching over her. A group home would have been so costly to the government.

So the family, who spared the government from that expense, gets no retirement credit for that caregiving work.

[Bev54]

5. Yep no retirement and no real income for the care they gave over a lifetime.

[PoliticAverse]

6. The downside would be increasing payouts Social Security would be required to make...

without compensating increased revenue for the program.

[Beatlelvr]

8. Because

We don't "earn" anything. Been doing this 10 years now, luckily I could retire early and stay with mom. Otherwise I don't know what my siblings and I would have arranged. Lately I have brought up "compensation" due me when this is all over. We'll see...

[Backseat Driver]

9. While I don't believe family home caregivers get retirement credit, there are some

state(?) programs for which certain Medicaid (not Medicare) claims for caregiving services can be reimbursed; I have no idea how detailed care logs or if contracts would need to be or what the process exactly entails or what relatives may get paid claims, but I do believe the patient needs assessment, financial, capacity, and what activities of daily living are required for care. The caregiver also needs to make an application for an NPI (National Provider Index) number. More confusing, the programs are likely to have different program names in different states.

https://www.aarp.org/caregiving/financial-legal/info-2017/you-can-get-paid-as-a-family-caregiver.html

[OneBro]

10. 'Cause that's ((dramatic pause)) socialism!

The idea of a social security “credit” for caring for family while not paying into the fund is SOCIALISM. While New Testament Jesus and most bleeding heart liberals would whole-heartedly agree with your idea, Republican Jeezus and farm subsidy loving red states would cry that it’s the worst thing for ‘Merica since Lincoln freed the slaves.

[Phoenix61]

11. Because there are no paid lobbyists advocating

for them. Imagine how many people would keep their loved home with them if they were paid even half of what the government will pay a nursing home. Or what if they could hire someone to watch them while they went to work. What if there were adult day cares? If any of those things happened nursing homes would lose revenue.

[Klaralven]

12. It could be done if you monetize the transaction. The government would love it.

The cared for person would pay the caregiver for care. The cared for person would withhold income tax and employer's share of Medicare and social security taxes. The caregiver would pay income tax and the employee's share of Medicare and social security tax.

The government would love these arrangements to be monetized, so that it can collect taxes, add the jobs to measures of employment, and increase the measures of GDP.

There would also be some set of certifications, regulations and oversight to qualify the caregiver and ensure quality care.

[LiberatedUSA]

15. Or to put it a other way...

…go to school to learn how to get up in the morning and make your grandma breakfast and get her pills.

[raccoon]

13. I couldn't agree more, plus that's another reason we need a national health plan. Nt

[mopinko]

14. they talked about it under obama. jan schakowsky has wanted this for years.

i spent most of my life not earning a paycheck. both years as a mom and as an artist. on my account, i get $300/mo.
fortunately i was married long enough to get my ex's bennies, which is 15 yrs.
but it's less than what he gets. the hard part is that he is only 60, and i have to wait til he is 62, and eligible himself.

last i looked widows/divorcee get about 4/5 of the full payment.

[lark]

16. That is a really excellent idea. It should be part of the Built Back Better plan.

It would really help! Of course getting agreement on assigning the value is the hard part since repugs would vote en masse against it.

[BSdetect]

17. I am 10 years older than my wife of 41 years but must wait till she turns 62 to get Medicare. Or SS

Not so in Australia.

[Klaralven]

18. Medicare age is 65 unless you are disabled or have some special circumstance.

Social Security retirement benefits begin at 62, but the monthly benefit increases significantly for each year you wait thereafter.

[Grasswire2]

20. how many trillions of dollars do we pay for national defense?

We can afford anything if we tax the rich their fair share and eliminate loopholes.

It's just a matter of setting priorities.

The general welfare of people must come first. Before corporate welfare. Before tax breaks for the rich.

The cruelty of an oligarchy must be stopped, and priorities re-aligned.

[drmeow]

21. pay back what was borrowed

from SS (to pay for wars). Replace the cap with a floor (you only start paying SS when your income reaches a certain point - you never stop after that point). Make billionaires who don't earn wages pay SS on their capital gains.

Impossible to pass but that's what I'd do if I were dictator.