The plan includes another great innovation, one that helps women make extra contributions to their pensions and other retirement savings programs. We began addressing this problem three years ago when my Homemaker IRA plan became law. Women who work outside the home go off the savings track when they leave the workplace to raise children. One result can be that women end up with smaller pensions when they retire. Congress' plan allows women who return to work after raising their children to contribute as much as 50 percent more per year to their pension plans.
Women remain the primary care givers for elderly family members.
Congress' proposal also allows an additional personal exemption for those caretakers of elderly family members, and it permits people to deduct the cost of long-term care insurance. Finally, Congress' tax relief plan would help women by recognizing that they constitute the fastest growing segment of business owners in America. The plan would allow the self-employed to deduct the cost of their health insurance, making it possible for a greater number of people to get health care coverage, and it would phase out the death tax so women business owners, as well as men, can pass their success on to their children. Congress and the White House agree that two out of three dollars in the expected surplus over the next 10 years will be dedicated to saving Social Security. The debate is over the remaining dollar.