# Fairness for Stay-at-Home Parents Act

This bill aims to give stay-at-home parents credit toward Social Security benefits based on the work their spouse does. Right now, if you stay home to raise children or manage a household while your spouse works, you can get some Social Security benefits based on their earnings record, but you don't build up your own individual benefit amount. This bill would change that by allowing stay-at-home parents to earn Social Security credits during the years they're not in the paid workforce, similar to how people who work outside the home accumulate credits.

The practical effect is that stay-at-home parents could potentially receive higher Social Security payments when they retire, become disabled, or if their spouse passes away. Currently, a stay-at-home parent's benefits are limited to a percentage of what their working spouse receives. Under this bill, they'd build their own benefit record, which could result in significantly more money in retirement. This would particularly help people who took time out of the workforce to raise children or care for family members, recognizing that caregiving work has real economic value even though it's unpaid.

The bill essentially acknowledges that stay-at-home parents contribute to their household's economic security, and that contribution should count toward their own Social Security eligibility. This could be especially meaningful for people going through divorce, since Social Security benefits are often based on individual work records, and for surviving spouses who need their own benefit history rather than relying solely on a deceased spouse's earnings.