Study: Rubio's Paid-Leave Bill Would Help New Parents but Cut Their Retirement Benefits

Legislation introduced by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) to create a paid parental leave benefit would "provide meaningful financial help to new parents" but also cut participants' average lifetime Social Security retirement benefits, according to a report released Thursday by the Urban Institute. "A strong case can be made for guaranteeing parents paid leave, but the Social Security system may not be the best way to finance those benefits," the paper's authors wrote. The Urban Institute's researchers added that it could be hard to justify diverting resources from retirement at a time when there's increasing concern about the financial security of future retirees, reports The Hill . They also said that creating a paid leave benefit through Social Security "raises fundamental questions" about the Social Security system. "Allowing people to borrow against their future retirement benefits to meet their needs at younger ages would begin to transform the program from a social insurance program to a forced saving program," the researchers wrote.