Senators Baldwin, Murray Lead Bill to Protect, Strengthen Women’s Retirement Security

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Patty Murray (D-WA) led a group of their colleagues in re-introducing legislation to protect women’s retirement security. The Women’s Retirement Protection Act of 2025 would address systemic challenges women face to a secure retirement by strengthening protections and providing enhanced tools to ensure women can better prepare for retirement.

“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 face greater barriers when saving for retirement—from unequal pay to more time out of the workforce to care for their families—and as a result, women are more likely to live in poverty as they get older. I want to ensure that every American can have a secure and restful retirement, which is why I’m proud to be reintroducing the Women’s Retirement Protection Act with my friend Senator Baldwin, to extend important protections for women’s retirement savings and strengthen women’s financial security,” said Senator Murray.

A secure retirement is one of the hallmarks of a strong middle class and an economy that works for all Americans, not just the wealthiest few. However, after decades of stagnant wages and barriers to saving adequately, far too few Americans are financially prepared for retirement. Women lag significantly behind their male counterparts in retirement savings, as the median retirement income in 2023 was 84 percent of men’s retirement income. Because of these financial challenges, women, age 65 and older, are much 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.

The Women’s Retirement Protection Act of 2025 (WRPA) would address some of these challenges by extending critical protections to women’s retirement security and providing enhanced tools to ensure women can better prepare for retirement:

• Strengthen consumer protections to safeguard retirement savings – 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. WRPA would provide spousal protections to require spousal consent for almost all distributions.
• Increase financial literacy – One of the most promising ways to ensure people gain important financial and economic skills is through education. WRPA would enhance and bolster women’s financial literacy through grants for community-based organizations to help provide information and financial tools to women who are of working or retirement age.
• Provide assistance to help certain women obtain qualified domestic relations orders – Retirement accounts and pensions are often a leading cause of contention in divorce. WRPA would provide grants to community-based organizations to assist low-income women and survivors of domestic violence in obtaining the benefits to which they are entitled through qualified domestic relations orders—the legal instruments that allow for the division of retirement benefits—assuring they receive the retirement benefits they are entitled to following a divorce or legal separation.

The Women’s Retirement Protection Act is also co-sponsored by Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Ed Merkley (D-OR). This legislation was introduced in the U.S. House today by Representative Lauren Underwood (D-IL-14) and is supported by the National Women’s Law Center, Pension Rights Center, and AARP.

“As women strive for economic equality in this country, we must make sure they can retire with dignity,” said Representative 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.”

“We’ve long advocated for this critically important legislation that addresses many of the systemic failures, particularly for women, in the private retirement system,” said Karen Friedman, Executive Director of the Pension Rights Center. “Retirement income security should be a bi-partisan issue and we look forward to getting this bill over the finish line.”

“AARP is pleased to endorse the Women’s Retirement Protection Act. Our research shows over 90% of women aged 45 and above are concerned about having sufficient funds to retire comfortably,” said AARP. “Beyond the well-documented pay disparities, women are more likely than men to leave the workforce, sometimes for many years, to fulfill family caregiving responsibilities, resulting in less financial security in retirement for women compared to men. We believe this legislation will be a valuable tool in helping women across America secure their financial future.”

Full text of this legislation is available here. A one-pager on this legislation is available here.

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