Senator Marco Rubio unveiled an Ivanka Trump-backed family leave plan Thursday that would require new parents to pay for time spent with their infant children by borrowing from their Social Security retirement benefits early.
The Economic Security for New Parents Act would allow parents to use their retirement benefits for up to 12 weeks, and would be paid back by delaying retirement for three to six months per child. In two-parent households, benefits are transferable among spouses.
“There’s nothing we can do for our children that’s better than allowing their parents to spend more time and be more involved in their lives, especially from their early days,” Rubio said in an interview with CBS.
But critics of the bill say that it unfairly penalizes families by making them chose between retirement or spending time with their infant children. If a woman has three children over the course of her life, her retirement could be delayed by a full year and a half.
