Tom Allen on Social Security 2008 Senate challenger; Democratic Representative (ME-1)

Cosponsored the Notch Fairness Act, fairness to notch babies

A: Allen supports Social Security Notch reform to correct the compensation disparity for individuals born in the notch period. Allen is a cosponsor of H.R. 368, the Notch Fairness Act of 2007, which will allow individuals born in the notch period to choose either lump sum payments or an improved benefit computation formula.

Adjust cost-of-living to take care of seniors

A: People should never be forced to choose between heating their homes, buying food, and paying for medications. In our current economy, more seniors are struggling to make ends meet. As energy prices, food prices, and medical expenses increase, social security benefits must be adjusted accordingly to guarantee that we take care of our seniors.

GOP raided trust fund to provide tax breaks for millionaires

A: Tom Allen believes comprehensive Social Security reform and long-term solvency of the Social Security program must be a national priority. During his time in Congress, Rep. Allen fought against irresponsible Republican budgets that raided the Social Security trust fund to provide tax breaks for millionaires. Rep. Allen supported alternative budget proposals that protected Social Security and voted to save the budget surplus until legislation addressing Medicare and Social Security Trust Funds solvency was enacted. Tom has long supported measures to guarantee long-term Social Security solvency and voted to preserve 100% of the Social Security surplus for the Social Security program.

Voted YES on raising 401(k) limits & making pension plans more portable.

Voted NO on reducing tax payments on Social Security benefits.

Voted YES on strengthening the Social Security Lockbox.

Changing Social Security disproportionately affects women.

RESOLUTION: Recognizing the unique effects that proposals to reform Social Security may have on women.

• Whereas the Social Security benefit structure is of particular importance to low-earning wives and widows, with 63% of women beneficiaries aged 62 or older receiving wife's or widow's benefits;
• Whereas 3/4 of unmarried and widowed elderly women rely on Social Security for over half of their income;
• Whereas without Social Security benefits, the elderly poverty rate among women would have been 52.2% and among widows would have been 60.6%;
• Whereas women tend to live longer and tend to have lower lifetime earnings than men do;
• Whereas women spend an average of 11.5 years out of their careers to care for their families, and are more likely to work part-time than full-time; and
• Whereas during these years in the workforce, women earn an average of 70 cents for every dollar men earn:
• Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives recognizes the unique obstacles that women face in ensuring retirement security and survivor and disability stability and the essential role that Social Security plays in guaranteeing inflation-protected financial stability for women throughout their entire old age, and it is the sense of the House of Representatives that the Congress and the President should take these factors into account when considering proposals to reform the Social Security system.

Rated 100% by the ARA, indicating a pro-senior voting record.

The mission of the Alliance for Retired Americans is to ensure social and economic justice and full civil rights for all citizens so that they may enjoy lives of dignity, personal and family fulfillment and security. The Alliance believes that all older and retired persons have a responsibility to strive to create a society that incorporates these goals and rights and that retirement provides them with opportunities to pursue new and expanded activities with their unions, civic organizations and their communities.

The following ratings are based on the votes the organization considered most important; the numbers reflect the percentage of time the representative voted the organization's preferred position.

Require small businesses to allow automatic IRA deposits.

Women's Retirement Security Act of 2008: To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to increase the retirement security of women and small business owners. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to:

1. require certain small employers who do not provide retirement plans for their employees to allow eligible employees to participate in a payroll deposit individual retirement account arrangement (automatic IRA);
2. expand eligibility for the tax credit for retirement savings contributions (saver's credit) and make such credit refundable;
3. allow part-time employees to participate in qualified cash or deferred arrangements;
4. allow the transfer of up to $500 of unused health plan benefits to qualified retirement plans;
5. treat wage replacement income (e.g., disability pay or unemployment compensation) as earned income for purposes of IRA contribution limits; and
6. allow self-employed individuals to deduct pension plan contributions from their self-employment income.