HRC Back Story

From HRC Communications and Marketing Intern Casie Yoder:

HRC Legal Director Lara Schwartz writes about “The Cost of Being Gay” in an Advocate.com analysis posted today as part of HRC’s “7 Days to a Better Financial You” campaign.  She discusses many of the state and federal laws that impose significant financial burdens on GLBT Americans and their families, and outlines HRC’s new Family Matters legislative agenda.  Here are a couple of highlights from the piece: 

On Social Security:

The Cost of Being Gay can have a serious impact. Take social security: on tax day, all American workers file tax returns that include, among other things, a statement of the total amount of social security payroll taxes they paid.  GLBT Americans pay the same payroll taxes as everyone else, but are excluded from spousal benefits and survivors’ benefits.  In fact, even children raised by same-sex couples are treated unfairly.  A surviving child of a deceased GLBT worker can lose out on benefits worth tens of thousands of dollars over their childhood -- money that could pay for food, clothing, and education.

Why Family Matters matters:

That’s why HRC is promoting the Family Matters legislative agenda: the Domestic Partner Benefits and Obligations Act, which would provide equal benefits to same-sex partners of federal civilian employees; the Tax Equity for Health Plan Beneficiaries Act, which would end the tax inequities that currently apply to employer-provided health insurance for domestic partners; the Family and Medical Leave Inclusion Act, and legislation currently in development on other family protections.  HRC also continues to work with the nation’s leading employers to expand employee benefits programs, family and medical leave, and equal retirement savings options. Over fifty major employers from every region of the country support eliminating the taxation of these benefits, and their numbers are growing.