Brief How Much Would Senator Rubio’s Paid Leave Program Help New Parents
Richard W. Johnson, Melissa M. Favreault
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To expand parental leave options, Senator Marco Rubio (R–FL) introduced legislation this month that would allow new parents to trade part of their future Social Security retirement benefits for paid leave. Simulations from the Dynamic Simulation of Income Model (DYNASIM) show that a paid leave benefit equal to 300 percent of a monthly Social Security disability benefit would typically replace about 80 percent of pre-tax earnings for parents who leave work for two months. For each two-month paid leave, the program would raise Social Security’s full retirement age by about six months, reducing average lifetime retirement benefits by 3 percent.

Research and Evidence Work, Education, and Labor Family and Financial Well-Being Health Policy Tax and Income Supports Research to Action Technology and Data
Expertise Families Taxes and the Economy Wealth and Financial Well-Being Labor Markets Reproductive and Maternal Health Upward Mobility and Inequality Microsimulation Modeling Aging and Retirement
Research Methods Dynamic Simulation of Income Model 4 (DYNASIM4)
Tags Social Security Retirement Parenting Work-family balance Federal budget and economy Retirement policy Family and medical leave Paid leave