Underwood, Baldwin Introduce Legislation to Protect Women’s Retirement Security

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Representative Lauren Underwood (IL-14) and Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) introduced the Women’s Retirement Protection Act of 2025 (WRPA), legislation to help close the retirement gap and improve women’s financial security.

“As women strive for economic equality in this country, we must make sure they can retire with dignity,” said Underwood. “That means protecting their financial future and preventing a spouse from draining shared retirement savings without consent. Senator Baldwin and I introduced the Women’s Retirement Protection Act to address economic inequalities and help women achieve financial security and independence.”

“Every Wisconsinite who works hard their whole lives toward retirement should have a secure safety net to fall back on. Unfortunately, barriers like unequal pay and time off for caregiving hold too many women back from making this dream a reality,” said Senator Baldwin. “I am proud to introduce this legislation to extend protections for women in the workforce and ensure more Americans get the hard-earned retirement they deserve.”

Women lag significantly behind their male counterparts in retirement savings—in 2023, their median retirement income was 83.6percent of men’s retirement income. Because of these financial challenges, women ages 65 and older are 25% more likely to live in poverty, compared to men in the same age group. This is partly because women face systemic barriers, like unequal pay and time out of the workforce for caregiving duties, which make it more difficult to adequately save for retirement.

For many working families, their 401(k) plan is often their largest asset aside from their home. Under current law, one spouse could take a distribution or a loan from the plan without the other spouse’s knowledge or consent.

The WRPA addresses some of the challenges that disproportionately affect women as they plan for their financial futures. The legislation would:

1. Strengthen consumer protections to protect retirement savings by establishing spousal protections, similar to those that are available for defined benefit plans, for defined contribution plans like a 401(k). This will prevent one spouse from making decisions that might undermine a couple's retirement resources without the other's knowledge and consent;
2. Increase financial literacy by providing grants for community-based organizations to help provide information and financial tools to women who are of working or retirement age;
3. Support women with low incomes and survivors of domestic abuse seeking retirement benefits by providing grants for community-based organizations that help them get qualified domestic relations orders, and make sure they receive the retirement benefits they are entitled to following a divorce or legal separation. 

In the House, the legislation is co-led by Representatives Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), and Donald Norcross (NJ-01). In the 117th Congress, a provision from Underwood’s Women’s Retirement Protection Act of 2021 was signed into law, expanding retirement plan eligibility for part-time workers, most of whom are women.

The WRPA is endorsed by the AARP, National Women’s Law Center, and Pension Rights Center.

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