The Inequitable Distribution of OASI Benefits Among Homemakers

OASI Spouse benefits may be interpreted as an implicit payment to wives for time spent in home work. This implicit credit is calculated for women who have spent some time out of the work force and is shown to vary among wives. Because spouse benefits are based in part on husbands' earnings, women with high earning husbands tend to receive a larger implicit credit for periods of home work, a bias in favor of these women which will not be corrected by proposed reductions in spouse benefits, the payment of an explicit homemakers credit or by childcare drop out years.