Starting in 2034, Social Security will be able to pay only 75 percent of scheduled benefits, according to the latest trustees report, unless taxes are raised or benefits are trimmed. And while the chances of passing any legislation in an election year are dim, the proposal introduces a new strain of thinking about what Social Security can be used for. Another legislator, Representative Thomas Garrett, a Republican from Virginia, recently introduced a bill that would let individuals draw Social Security benefits early to pay off a portion of their student loans.

Millions of retirees rely on modest checks from the program, which was created from a bill signed into law by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1935. Treating Social Security as something that can be borrowed against suggests that it can be treated as an individual account rather than a social insurance program. That could open the door to privatizing the accounts, some experts said, an idea that was floated during George W. Bush’s administration.

“This is a significant philosophy shift that doesn’t look at it like an insurance program where we are all in it together, but an individual asset you can tap to pay for your individual needs,” said Kathleen Romig, senior policy analyst at the liberal-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

The proposal would also begin to reshape Social Security into something more akin to 401(k) accounts: Account holders can borrow against their 401(k), or even drain it in a financial emergency (albeit with a penalty), leaving them with less savings for retirement.

Social Security, in contrast, cannot be touched and is often viewed as the last standing leg in the three-legged stool of retirement, when personal savings are not enough and pensions are increasingly rare.

To be eligible for the proposed program, a new parent would need to have a minimum amount of earnings in the years before claiming the benefit, similar to the formula used to qualify for Social Security disability benefits , according to the proposal from the Independent Women’s Forum.

The size of the benefit would be calculated borrowing a formula from Social Security. A 26-year-old woman earning $31,000, for example, might receive roughly $1,175 a month in Social Security parental benefits, which replaces about 45 percent of her income, for up to 12 weeks.