Pondering: Marriage's Financial Benefits--But Not for MANY AA Women

How Will Declining Rates of Marriage Reshape Eligibility for Social Security?
http://www-cpr.maxwell.syr.edu/pbriefs/pb33.pdf

But since the 1960s, the frequency and length of marriages has dropped notably. Many demographers suggest that marriage will remain nearly universal for whites and Hispanics, but much less so for blacks. For example, Goldstein and Kenney (2001) project that among women born between 1960 and 1964, 93 percent of whites, but only 64 percent of blacks, will ever marry. Moreover, people do not stay married as long as they used to. Divorce rates rose steadily through the 1960s and 1970s, and then stabilized in the mid 1980s (Ruggles 1997; Goldstein 1999). Since 1988, the average span between first marriage and first divorce has been less than 10 years (Schoen and Weinick 1993). In fact, the tendency to divorce now peaks in the fourth year of both first marriages and remarriages (Goldstein 1999).

Our own examination of U.S. Census data shows a pronounced decline in marriage by age groups over time for both whites and blacks (U.S. Bureau of Census 1973 a, b; 1984 a, b; 1992; 1993; 2000). In 1970, among women age 25-34, 86 percent of whites and 74 percent of blacks were married. By 2000, 62 percent of whites and only 31 percent of blacks were married. In 1970, among women age 35-44, 87 percent of whites and 76 percent of blacks were married. By 2000, 70 percent of whites and only 41 percent of blacks were married. The difference by race is dramatic. During the 1970s, black women age 25 and up were between 84 to 87 percent as likely as whites to be married; by 2000 they were just 50 to 59 percent as likely.

Figure 5 shows that the proportion of black women born in the 1940s through the 1960s who will reach old age with a marriage that qualifies them for spouse and widow benefits will drop substantially. A comparison of Figures 2 and 5 shows just how sharp a drop is expected. Among those born in the 1920s, nearly 90 percent of black women reached old age with a marriage that qualified them for Social Security spouse and widow benefits. Among those born in the 1930s, about 84 percent qualified. Yet among those born in the 1940s, only about 67 percent will reach old age with a 10-year marriage, and among those born in the 1950s, just 58 percent will qualify. For those born in the 1960s, we expect only 50 percent of black women to reach old age having had a marriage that qualifies them for spouse or widow benefits.

Figure 6 shows that while there was some decline for Hispanic women, the proportion who will reach old age with a marriage that qualifies them for spouse and widow benefits will stabilize for those born in the 1940s through the 1960s. Among Hispanic women born in the 1920s, just under 80 percent reached old age with a qualifying marriage, and among those born in the 1930s, it was nearly 87 percent. We project that among those born in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, about 85 percent will qualify. White and Hispanic women will continue to have fairly high levels of eligibility for Social Security spouse and widow benefits, but black women will not.

Those who do not qualify for spouse and widow benefits either because they never married or divorced before meeting the 10-year requirement are most likely to be poor in old age (Butrica and Iams 2000, 2003). Black women may be not only the least likely to be able to make claims as wives or widows, but may also continue to have the lowest average worker benefits and private pensions. Thus, the safety net provided by non-contributory benefits may become increasingly irrelevant, and therefore ineffective, for the group that needs it most: unmarried black women.

Some might suggest that lack of access to a spouse and widow benefit might not be as problematic for black women because the gender gap in wages is smaller. Indeed, black women earn 83 percent of what black men earn, while white women earn just 69 Harrington Meyer, Wolf, and Himes 13 percent of what white men earn (Padavic and Reskin 2002). But black women currently have the lowest average working wages and the lowest average retired worker benefits (Padavic and Reskin 2002; SSA 2006). They are also less likely than white women to have private pension income, asset income, or their own homes (Butrica and Iams 2003). Thus, they are particularly economically vulnerable in old age. While retirement benefits for workers may increase somewhat for future cohorts, these benefits are not likely to increase enough to equal the benefits they might have received as widows.

Given the growing race gap in eligibility for Social Security spouse and widow benefits, why keep these benefits at all? Some policy analysts in the past have suggested that spouse and widow benefits serve as a form of delayed or de facto wages for unpaid domestic labor performed by many women throughout their lives (Myers 1982; Holden 1979; Flowers 1979). However, the eligibility rules are unrelated to the performance of domestic labor; they reward marital status rather than unpaid labor. Furthermore, women married to high earners receive a much larger benefit than women married to low earners, regardless of the quantity and difficulty of their unpaid labors (Harrington Meyer 1996).

AND another article:

http://ideas.repec.org/p/max/cprpbr/33.html

For most older people in the United States, Social Security is the major source of income: nine out of ten people age 65 or older receive benefits, which represent an average of 41 percent of their income. Largely as a result of Social Security, poverty rates for the elderly are at an all-time low, just 10 percent. But pockets of poverty persist: older unmarried persons, blacks, and Hispanics experience poverty rates in excess of 20 percent, and over 40 percent of all older single black women live in poverty. People quality for Social Security based either on their work record or their marital status. Most older women receive noncontributory Social Security spouse of widow benefits on the basis of their marital history. For these women, marital status is more important than employment status in shaping old-age financial security. However, the trend to marry and stay married has declined over time in the United States, particularly among black women. This, we hypothesize, means that fewer women will qualify for spouse and widow benefits in coming decades. As a result, Social Security benefits will shrink among the very population that currently reports higher poverty rates, older single women, particularly black women. In this policy brief, we ask: Compared to earlier cohorts, what proportion of white, black, and Hispanic women born in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s will enter old age without a marriage that qualifies them for Social Security spouse and widow benefits? We find that the proportion who will reach age 62 without a qualifying marriage, and thus be ineligible for Social Security spouse and widow benefits, is increasing modestly for whites and Hispanics but dramatically for African Americans. Most of these women will be eligible for retired worker benefits under Social Security, but those benefits are not likely to be as large as the benefits they would have received as spouses and widows, had they been eligible. We then discuss a range of policy alternatives, including the possibility of a minimum benefit.

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Thank you, Felicia for these articles.  It's crucial that AA women know what to expect in their future financially speaking if they continue to believe those in the bc and others who soothe them by telling them that "There's no point in rushing to get married," (even when they're 35) or  "Everybody's not cut out for marriage," or that "Marriage is for white people."  If they listen, these bw are simply going to end up old, poor, sick, alone, and at the mercy of leeches, predators, and strangers.

And yes, it is just as important to marry WELL. That is VERY important. It is so difficult to get this across to AA women--some of whom will argue all day and all night that a man who can give a good "foot rub" is just as good or better than a man who has means. LOL!  Apparently, many AA women find it hard to believe that a man can have means AND can give a good "foot rub."  Also, when the social security allotment is being calculated, I don't know how a good "foot rub" can be put into that calculation.

 HOWEVER, even if they don't get married, they need to hang onto their money NOW and find other ways to secure their financial future. However, so many AA women are so busy shelling out money ***helping*** this one and that one, until they don't keep their money or learn to make it benefit them now and in the future.  Needless to say, these folks they're helping won't be there for them when they need them the most.

And at the same time, the economy is sinking. I don't want to scare anyone, but the economy is worse than is being reported.  Take heed.

It's really CRIMINAL AND EVIL that the information in the above reports is not blasting from black radio stations and leaping off the pages of black-owned print media.

 

 

Comments

[Pamela]

Sidebar: I love reading blogs like this where they focus on the non-romantic side of relationships. These are the issues that kill relationships.

For people that put a good foot rub ABOVE their financial future I tell them to please stop this. I am speaking thinking about my Mom. My Dad died March 11 after almost 59 years of marriage. My Dad retired from the military. Because of this both of them had one of the best medi-gap health plans out there. With all the medical bills Dad had it looks like Mom will hardly owe anything on them. She would not have that benefit if she had never married. My Dad and I spoke about what to do if he died first. At the time he was concerned that Mom would not be able to keep the house and that we would have to sell. I am glad to say that even with a drop in income Mom is able to keep her same standard of living with no help from anyone, some of it from spousal benefits from Dad's retirement. She CHOSE to stay in their home. I was glad that she had that choice.

I am TEMPORARILY unmarried. However I was raised to take care of my financial business. I had one financial setback because of a long layoff several years ago that I am in the process of taking care of. I have had people tell me that I should wait to get married before purchasing a home (not exclusive advice for bw). I have also heard, no man will want a woman that has more than you do. I thought they had lost their minds. I waited until 2001 to purchase my home, not because of that stupid advice. I am SO glad that I did this.

One of my girlfriends about 1 1/2 years ago married for the first time at 45-years-old. She is married to a bm that has some sense and loves her dearly. Her tale is amazing to me. I mention her because before she married she continually struggled with her finances. She had not completed college and her financial situation was really messed up. The first thing I noticed when she married that almost immediately her financial situation changed. She has always wanted her own home but that was not happening while she was single. They are working together to get their credit cleaned up and sometime this year they will be purchasing a home. She started working a job that she grew to hate while unmarried. Right before Christmas she decided to quit that job and look for a part time job that she liked. Had she been single she would have been stuck there. As we speak she is completing her college education, something she would have never been able to do beforehand.

I would tell any unmarried woman to take care of her financial business NOW. The marriage may happen tomorrow or it may take a few years. Do not bank on it happening soon and do nothing. That is the biggest mistake that can be made. I truly believe the less financial pressures that a couple has will do nothing but benefit the marriage. Some people may be turned off by a partner with a lot of unnecessary debt (excluding extenuating circumstances that arise). Do whatever you can do to better your financial situation WHILE HUNTING THAT MAN DOWN. LOL

[lisa99]

Thanks for these articles. I find that the BC is incredibly short-sighted about the benefits of marriage and the financial/social/mental/etc. benefits that it has.

On another board, there was yet another discussion about the decline of the BC and BW taking up the slack for men and not having time to be focused on their kids 24/7... and the question was, "What is the solution?"

A lot of people said that the solution comes down to marrying well, having kids AFTER the marriage and setting a foundation upon which you will build your legacy. Some folks said that sounded so simplistic... but the counterargument was that we can't think in terms of quick fixes, and that we need to think of generational solutions that will have a much larger impact than mentoring programs, volunteering and other goverment-oriented programs that attempt (and usually fail) to fill in the gap left behind by poor family structures.

The best answer is building stable communities through stable marriages and families. And again, MORE BW need to read these types of articles and recognize what they will truly be missing if they keep listening to terrible advice that tells them to "wait on God," or "embrace their singleness as a gift."

[Evia]

Thanks, Pamela for chiming in with your parents' situation. Yep, there's a lot of unromantic parts to a good relationship--LIKE MONEY. LOL!

AA women must aim to marry WELL--just like ALL groups of other women do or at least the sensible ones do in those groups. This is one reason why many parents want to move to better neighborhoods, so that their children can be around peers who aspire to financially more comfortable lives. The thing is that while other women are taught to look for a guy who has something to offer them financially and otherwise, AA women are too often being taught how they have to pick up the slack for a man and we know she's not being taught to pick up the slack for a wm!!

I was always determined to be financially comfortable, so when I look back, a lot of my decisions were made with that in mind.
So let's talk about the money side of a relationship/marriage.

I would have been okay if I had remained single with no children, but the minute a man started looking at me expecting me to have children, I started looking at him expecting him to bring money because in order to have children, you have to have money or there'll be suffering for the woman and the children and I wasn't about to allow that to happen to me. So the second a man started looking at me--even thinking about having sex with me, I started looking at his pocketbook--because I know that any time you have sex with a man, there is the possibility that the woman can get pregnant. She is also risking other things too. She is JEOPARDIZING herself, so the man has to be financially prepared to offset some of what could happen. I wasn't going to come up holding the short end of the stick.

[Felicia]

Thank you for posting this information Evia.

It is SO important for BW to think LONG TERM instead of just today.

And what kills me is ALL of this information is easily accessible and available to the public at large.

Yet, I fear a certain percentage of BW still get their news primarily from black publications and/or word of mouth.

Talking about the blind leading the blind...

Ladies, you MUST care about your life and what comes of it. It is YOUR responsibility and no one else's.

As adults you must have a questioning and inquisitive mind. Not be on "automatic robot".

IMO MOST BW these days certainly appear to be on "automatic robot" and it's to their detriment. And if they live long enough, they will see EXACTLY where this magical thinking leads.

To the poor house - and these days - NO HOUSE.

It's true that things are MUCH WORSE economically speaking than the talking heads are leading us to believe.

It's going to be CHAOS in the near future for those BW (the majority) left behind...

Ladies, all YOU have to do is make sure YOU'RE not one of them.

Start taking care of your finances NOW and start dating, mating, and procreating WISELY.

EVERYTHING depends on it.

[Pamela]

I recently started using Facebook. I have reconnected with a good number of my friends from college. THIS MORNING I found out that two of my married friends, both of them with one child, have divorced or separated. One removed her hyphenated name and is going by her maiden name. I know she is divorced. The other one still has her married name on her profile so she is at least separated but maybe not yet divorced.

One of them just left her husband and moved to another city close to me. If I remember correctly the daughter is probably 7-8 years old. She did not marry until she was 40. I was not around her so I do not know if she was in the number of 'only a bm will do' or not. She is 49 now.

The other one I would see every now and then but had no real contact with her. She has a 16-year-old daughter.

My first thought was wondering how much their income had dropped. Being a daughter that had both parents in the home I thought about what will happen to male influences in their daughter's lives. My Dad was not perfect BUT worked hard to make sure that I did NOT mess with fools. I truly believe that if I dared to bring some fool to Mom and said that I was in love that Dad would be tempted to come back from the dead and scare the crap out of me screaming 'HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND???' The FIRST question that BOTH OF THEM would ask me is 'Does he has a good job?' or 'Is he a good provider?' My mom has no worries about what type of man I will bring home. He better have it on the ball in the area of finances.

I could care less if a fool refers to me as a gold-digger for wanting a man to be a good provider. That person just revealed to me that he is NOT FOR ME!!!!

[Lorraine]

Both good articles Felicia. Thanks.

"It's really CRIMINAL AND EVIL that the information in the above reports is not blasting from black radio stations and leaping off the pages of black-owned print media."

They either can't or won't face the obvious.

[Oshun]

Lord have mercy. I read this article and ended up having a long talk about this with my mother.

I had no idea. I agree that BW maybe don't think long term or big picture when thinking of the benefits of marriage.

I am one of them. I had not even considered this at all.

Thanks for the post Evia and Felicia.

[lisa99]

Oshun, things were never expressed to me in this way either.

Because marriage is not emphasized today in the BC, we're not taught to think of marriage in terms of building a community and a legacy through our families. We're so busy talking about "getting by," and glamorizing the "struggle," that we miss out on government-sponsored programs that are actually designed to benefit us and contribute to our economic welfare.

This idea of building a legacy and generational wealth is also why BW can't afford to marry someone who's barely employed and cannot support his family, and particularly noticeable is the fact that the BC is losing ground economically and household incomes are declining for blacks for the first time since slavery. I'm sure that's because of the growing number of single-parent households, and the fact that it's darn near impossible to build a strong foundation for you and your children when you are doing EVERYTHING on your own.

We need to realize that marriage is not just about being in "luv," (although that's a great thing) and that selecting a financially stable partner is of the utmost importance.

And equally as important, as you see, is the fact that we need to stop acting like it's just as good to stay single all your life as long as you have friends, family, God, the church, blah blah blah... there are serious costs to going through your entire life unmarried, and too many black women are going to find this out the hard way.

[Beverly]

Evia,

Your articles got me thinking and I did an internet search. I hope it's okay for me to post this info here. But here's a list of the financial benefits of marriage I found online at:http://www.nolo.com/article.cfm/ObjectID/E0366844-7992-4018-B581C6AE9BF8B045/catID/F896EE61-B80C-4FE1-B1687AC0F07903BA/118/304/ART/

Marriage Rights and Benefits

Learn some of the legal and practical ways that getting married changes your life.

Whether or not you favor marriage as a social institution, there's no denying that it confers many rights, protections, and benefits -- both legal and practical. Some of these vary from state to state, but the list typically includes:
Tax Benefits

* Filing joint income tax returns with the IRS and state taxing authorities.
* Creating a "family partnership" under federal tax laws, which allows you to divide business income among family members.

Estate Planning Benefits

* Inheriting a share of your spouse's estate.
* Receiving an exemption from both estate taxes and gift taxes for all property you give or leave to your spouse.
* Creating life estate trusts that are restricted to married couples, including QTIP trusts, QDOT trusts, and marital deduction trusts.
* Obtaining priority if a conservator needs to be appointed for your spouse -- that is, someone to make financial and/or medical decisions on your spouse’s behalf.

Government Benefits

* Receiving Social Security, Medicare, and disability benefits for spouses.
* Receiving veterans' and military benefits for spouses, such as those for education, medical care, or special loans.
* Receiving public assistance benefits.
Employment Benefits

* Obtaining insurance benefits through a spouse's employer.
* Taking family leave to care for your spouse during an illness.
* Receiving wages, workers' compensation, and retirement plan benefits for a deceased spouse.
* Taking bereavement leave if your spouse or one of your spouse’s close relatives dies.

Medical Benefits

* Visiting your spouse in a hospital intensive care unit or during restricted visiting hours in other parts of a medical facility.
* Making medical decisions for your spouse if he or she becomes incapacitated and unable to express wishes for treatment.

Death Benefits

* Consenting to after-death examinations and procedures.
* Making burial or other final arrangements.

Family Benefits

* Filing for stepparent or joint adoption.
* Applying for joint foster care rights.
* Receiving equitable division of property if you divorce.
* Receiving spousal or child support, child custody, and visitation if you divorce.

Housing Benefits

* Living in neighborhoods zoned for "families only."
* Automatically renewing leases signed by your spouse.

Consumer Benefits

* Receiving family rates for health, homeowners', auto, and other types of insurance.
* Receiving tuition discounts and permission to use school facilities.
* Other consumer discounts and incentives offered only to married couples or families.
Other Legal Benefits and Protections

* Suing a third person for wrongful death of your spouse and loss of consortium (loss of intimacy).
* Suing a third person for offenses that interfere with the success of your marriage, such as alienation of affection and criminal conversation (these laws are available in only a few states).
* Claiming the marital communications privilege, which means a court can’t force you to disclose the contents of confidential communications between you and your spouse during your marriage.
* Receiving crime victims' recovery benefits if your spouse is the victim of a crime.
* Obtaining immigration and residency benefits for noncitizen spouse.
* Visiting rights in jails and other places where visitors are restricted to immediate family.

[Evia]

Beverly, thank you SO MUCH for researching the benefits of marriage AND sending them. I've posted them here, but I'm going to put them on the front page of the Ezine in my next essay. THANK YOU!! This is what bw need to focus on-- where they want to go and NEED to go in order to survive and thrive, instead of focusing on NV and LV people in their lives.

And these are only the financial and legal benefits of marriage. There are so many EMOTIONAL and Social benefits too. Maybe, someone could find those already written out. I'd love to simply focus on this topic for my next two essays, at least.

[Beverly]

Evia,

You're welcome. Thank you for your in-depth and honest articles.

[sistrunkqueen]

YES marriage is very important for bw and it is a matter of life and death too. Here in the ATL there was an article in the AJC about educated black women losing their homes to foreclosures. We are the highest demographic in the foreclosure market in Atlanta(single black women). These women are single moms too and they have to make some very hard decisions and guess what they are doing to make ends meet. Filling out job applications at STRIP CLUBS. Atlanta has a very vibrant adult entertainment industry and these educated black women with their MBAs, PHD's and Master's are shaking their asses at the strip club to pay the mortgages and keep food on the table for their little ones. What if they were married to real men? If they had a husband with some income they would not have to make such a dire decision. Also on a black radio station they were advertising for women to audtion at one of the most popular clubs in Atlanta Magic City. The promoters were bragging that sister with law degrees were dancers. Aint that something. It is the sign of the times. The black community is exploiting black women and we are so gullible that it is tolerated.

[Gloryus]

Thanks to Evia for posting both articles and thanks to Beverly for posting all the benefits. I'm not a married woman yet (I'm 24) but information like that is very important to know. Man! To think that a lot of black women are missing out on benefits like this because they're waiting...... SMH