Brody's Notes... Rock For Equality Rally To Demand Same-Sex Social Security Benefits

By Brody Levesque (Washington DC) Apr 10 | Despite recent calls for equality in benefits from a broad cross section of government leaders and the American public, there remains embedded in Social Security Administration qualifications harsh and consequential discrimination against America’s same-sex couples.  This discrimination directly affects the lives and lessens the security of millions of people in the United States. According to Lorri L. Jean, CEO of the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Centre:

"LGBT Americans are being treated unfairly by Social Security—it’s as simple as that. Look at the figures.  What widow or widower can afford to operate at a $5,700 disadvantage each year?

Hundreds of thousands of people are suffering under the current policies. Why should a LGBT widow or widower have to give up the home they have shared for years with their partner when that partner dies? Preventing such tragedies is exactly what Social Security Survivor’s Benefits are for!

LGBT Americans pay into the system like everyone else, but their families are not eligible for the same benefits. 

At the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center, hundreds of our clients are harmed by Social Security discrimination.  Our Seniors Services Department hears these tragic stories every day. Providing care for these seniors is only a temporary fix.  The real solution is to change the law."

Ms. Jean notes that the city council of Los Angeles unanimously passed a resolution calling on the federal government to end Social Security policies that deny equal benefits to same-sex couples. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is expected to sign the resolution (introduced by Councilmembers Paul Koretz and Bill Rosendahl) making Los Angeles the first city to support an end to Social Security discrimination. 

Rea Carey, Executive Director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, in a statement said;

"It’s unthinkable that in America, countless LGBT seniors — widows, widowers, and other retirees — are being systematically short-changed by unfair Social Security policies. Even the children of many same-sex couples live outside the safety net of Social Security— if something happens to one of their parents, they may get little or no assistance. Social Security was created to protect all Americans in their later years. It is utterly un-American that this institution discriminates against LGBT citizens."

On Sunday, April 11th, Rock for Equality, presented by the Centre and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, in coalition with the AIDS Community Action Foundation,will hold a rally and demonstration to demand equal benefits for same-sex couples. U. S. Senator Barbara Boxer, (D-CA) and LA City Council member Paul Koretz will join protestors in front of the LA Gay & Lesbian Centre’s McDonald/Wright building. Protestors will then march to the downtown Social Security office, where they will stage a rally and rocking chair “rock-in.”

Also joining the roster of invited speakers at the rally is U. S. House of Representatives Rep.Linda Sanchez, (D-CA) who was interviewed recently by Advocate.com Senior White House correspondent Kerry Eleveld.

Eleveld reports that Congresswoman Sanchez is scheduled to announce that she is drafting a bill for submission to the powerful House Ways & Means Social Security sub-committee that she is a member of. According to Eleveld; 

"Rep. Linda Sanchez of California is expected to announce Sunday that she will be introducing legislation to equalize social security benefits for same-sex couples.

“I believe that this is a civil rights issue,” she told The Advocate, “and I’m committed to trying to extend equality and equal opportunity and I think this bill is one excellent way to do it.”

Sanchez will deliver the news Sunday at the L.A. Gay and Lesbian Center Rock for Equality rally. She says the center approached her about the issue along with the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and AIDS Community Action Foundation.

The Rock For Equality website provides these Social Security benefits discrimination facts:

• Despite calls for equality in benefits from a broad cross section of government leaders and the American public, there remains embedded in Social Security Administration qualifications harsh and consequential discrimination against America’s same-sex couples.  This discrimination directly affects the lives and lessens the security of millions of people in the United States.

• Social Security Benefits which are denied to same-sex couples fall into four categories:

1) Spousal Retirement Benefits (when one spouse retires)

2) Spousal /Dependents Disability Benefit under Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) (when one spouse is disabled)

3) Survivors Benefits

4) Death Benefit

1) Spousal Retirement Benefits* – allow a low-income spouse to be eligible for either their own benefit, or an amount equal to one-half of their higher earning spouse’s benefit.  It is common for one partner to earn more and pay more into Social Security than the other.  Once both partners have retired, one, for example, may qualify for benefits of $500 a month and the other for $2,000 a month.  The one who has qualified for $500 is automatically qualified for $1,000 instead which is equal to half of the larger earners benefit. When retirement comes, the lower earner gets a boost, so that the couple can retire with some security.  This benefit is not available to same-sex couples.

2) Spousal /Dependents Disability Benefit under SSDI * - provides for a spouse and dependents to qualify for benefits on a disabled worker’s earnings record in the same way as with retired workers (see above).  This benefit is not available to same-sex couples.  Even the children of same-sex couples may be at risk.  (The Department of Justice has issued an opinion on this, but this area of law is still unclear.)

3) Survivors Benefits* – allow a widow or widower to be eligible to claim their own Social Security benefit, or an amount equal to the benefit to which their deceased spouse was eligible.  So, upon retirement, if a couple qualifies for $500 for one person and $2000 for the other, together their monthly benefit would be $2,500.  Upon the death of the person getting $2,000, the survivor can receive $2000 per month, instead of $500.  Although the household income will go down by $500, the survivor can adjust by economizing on living expenses for one person instead of two, and live with some security.  This is true in all cases except when the survivor was in a same-sex partnership.  In those instances, the survivor has to get by on only $500 per month.

4) Death Benefit* - Upon the death of a spouse, Social Security provides a modest benefit of $255 for burial expenses, etc.  But not if the survivor was in a same-sex partnership.

Additional Facts

1) In some instances, the Social Security Administration affords certain advantageous benefits to divorced individuals that it does not provide to same-sex couples – even when the same-sex couples are married or registered as domestic partners.

2) The Social Security Administration does not recognize any same-sex relationships, anywhere, including couples in states that afford same-sex couples the right to marry or the right to register as domestic partners.

Eleveld also writes that Congresswoman Sanchez said some initial research showed that gay male couples receive 18% less in social security benefits and lesbian couples receive 31% less than their heterosexual counterparts.

“Women still earn less than men and women tend to live longer than,” she explained, “so women receive a lower level because they’re paid less and then that’s got to last more years because they live longer, so that’s why there’s a differential between male couples and lesbian couples.”

Sanchez expected the bill would be drafted and introduced within about a month.

“We have to do some groundwork before we introduce the bill to get the language correct,” she said, noting that different states have different laws regarding same-sex unions -- some have legal marriage while others provide domestic partnerships or civil union. Sanchez intends to craft the legislation “as broad as possible, as expansive as possible” in order to maximize its effect for same-sex couples.

Once the bill is introduced, “that’s when the real work begins,” Sanchez said. The Congresswoman will start soliciting cosponsors in the House’s LGBT caucus then branch out to the broader Democratic caucus. She also plans to push for a hearing in the Ways & Means Social Security subcommittee, of which she is a member.

Rock For Equality provided the following Rally Locations & Events schedule: 

Location and Schedule:

Date: Sunday, April 11, 2010

Starting Location: L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center, 1625 N. Schrader Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90028. Click here for map.

Sign-In and Distribution of Protest Signs: 9:30 a.m.

Opening Rally: 10:00 a.m.

Followed by: One-mile march to Social Security building on 1122 Vine St., Los Angeles, CA 90038 for protest demonstration and rock-in. Click here for map.

The march is expected to begin at approximately 10:45 a.m., and the demonstration will occur from approximately 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., including a brief speaking program.