Law Commons^™

Taxing Housework, Nancy Staudt

Faculty Working Papers

This article examines the tax policy rationale for excluding non-market household labor from the tax base and argues that the conventional rationals no longer withstand scrutiny. The article goes on to argue that it is possible to include non-market household labor into the tax base, while at the same time avoiding the imposition of costs upon the (mostly) women who supply the labor. Moreover, and mort important, tax policy reform along these line would increase householder laborers' access to public retirement benefits and signal the important of the work to society generally.

Marriage, Property And [In]Equality: Remedying Erisa's Disparate Impact On Spousal Wealth, Paula A. Monopoli

Faculty Scholarship

Congress is considering pension reform in the wake of the tremendous loss in market value of retirement plans during the current recession. This article suggests that this is a historic moment to remedy a previously unidentified, unintended but profound gender disparity embedded in the federal law governing retirement plans in this country. It explores the common perception that while contemporary law and policy aim to facilitate equality within marriage, including in the area of property ownership, embracing equitable distribution in reallocating property upon divorce, the Employment Retirement Income Security Act’s (ERISA) structuring of retirement asset accumulation runs counter to this …

Social Security Reform: Lessons From Private Pensions, Karen C. Burke, Grayson M.P. Mccouch

UF Law Faculty Publications

Widespread concerns about the long-term fiscal gap in Social Security have prompted various proposals for structural reform, with individual accounts as the centerpiece. Carving out individual accounts from the existing system would shift significant risks and responsibilities to individual workers. A parallel development has already occurred in the area of private pensions. Experience with 401(k) plans indicates that many workers will have difficulty making prudent decisions concerning investment and withdrawal of funds. Moreover, in implementing any system of voluntary individual accounts, it will be important to design default settings that provide appropriate guidance for workers with heterogeneous levels of financial …

Privitizing Social Security: Administration And Implementation, Karen C. Burke, Grayson M.P. Mccouch

UF Law Faculty Publications

This article considers administrative issues that bear on the structure and implementation of any universal, mandatory system of personal accounts within the Social Security system. The central issues involve tradeoffs between relatively standardized, low-cost options with constrained individual choice and limited risk, on the one hand, and more flexible, higher-cost options with enhanced opportunities for individual control and greater risk, on the other hand. A centralized system modeled on the Thrift Savings Plan for federal employees could balance these goals by offering participants a relatively narrow range of investment and withdrawal options, with correspondingly low administrative costs and limited risks. …

Partial Privatization Of Social Security: Assessing Its Effect On Women, Minorities, And Lower-Income Workers, Kathryn L. Moore

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

Once viewed as the “third rail” of politics, Social Security appears to be moving inexorably toward reform. In his 1998 State of the Union address, President Clinton proclaimed strengthening Social Security a high priority and called for bipartisan forums on Social Security reform to be held throughout the United States. Similarly, following the 1998 November elections, congressional leaders expressed commitment to “saving Society Security,” and House Ways and Means Chairman Bill Archer renewed his commitment to bipartisan reform of Social Security as recently as December 8, 1999 in a letter to President Clinton. Congressional hearings on reform proposals are ubiquitous, …

Redistribution Under The Current Social Security System, Kathryn L. Moore

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

Arguably the most successful program of the modern welfare state, Social Security has been enormously successful in lifting the elderly out of poverty. Thirty years ago, almost 30% of the elderly were in poverty, a poverty rate that was more than twice as high as the rate for the population as a whole. Today, in contrast, only about 12% of the elderly are subject to poverty, a rate that is about the same as the rest of the adult population.

This Article describes how the current system redistributes income. The Article does not attempt to develop a mathematical model to …

Sex Discrimination In Pension And Retirement Annuity Plans After Arizona Governing Committee V. Norris: Recognizing And Remedying Employer Non-Compliance, Mary L. Heen

Law Faculty Publications

This article is intended to help employees and practitioners determine whether an employer's pension or annuity plan violates Title VII, and if so, to identify the scope of relief which may be obtained. Part I discusses the Supreme Court's decision in Arizona Governing Committee v. Norris. Part II discusses the various types of pension and retirement plans, and describes how to identify sex discrimination in typical plans. Part ill briefly addresses the more difficult question of how to remedy employer non-compliance, and discusses the relief issues raised by both retirees and present employees (with reagard to benefits based on post-Norris …