“The Social Security system needs to be modernized to address the needs of the boomer generation of women and the generations of women following their path breaking footsteps.” Heidi Hartmann, President, Institute for Women’s Policy Research

Heidi Hartmann narrows the focus to how the nation’s Social Security system needs to be modernized to address the needs of baby boomer women and those Generation X, Y, and Millennium women who follow the boomers in her article “Social Security: Why Boomer Women Need More.” She analyzes how the Social Security system, developed in the 1930s, does not meet the needs of retiring baby boomer women. The author makes a case for improved Social Security benefits to address the “modern-day” needs of single women, low-income women, divorced women, and women who took time out from the workforce to care for their children or aging parents. She recommends creative policy solutions such as providing care giving credits and shortening the number of years of marriage required to receive spousal and survivor benefits.