October is National Retirement Security Awareness Month. For this blog post, we will feature resources and guidance specifically for women as they plan for a more secure financial future.
A Senate resolution passed on September 13, 2006, designated the third week in October as National Retirement Savings Week. In 2019, the National Association of Government Defined Contribution Administrators (NAGDCA) worked with Congress to expand the week to a full month.
For women, financial security in retirement is a real and ever-growing concern. According to the Brookings Institution, “For a variety of reasons, women earn less on average over the course of a lifetime than men do. Lower lifetime earnings make it harder for women to save for retirement. Exacerbating these differences, women are on average longer lived, more risk averse, less financially literate, and more likely to have greater caregiving responsibilities than men.”
Women are more likely to take leave from the workforce for child or elder care, so they tend to have fewer years of earned income. They are more likely to work part-time jobs, thereby reducing their likelihood of access to health benefits or retirement contributions. Women, especially those who work in female-dominated professions, typically earn less than men over the course of their work lives. Gender-based pay disparities and other financial challenges often result in lower retirement savings for women, and far too often, poverty in old age.
For guidance and information about women’s financial concerns, we’re providing the following list of resources. The items below provide a thorough picture of the retirement hurdles faced by women. Also provided are tips and advice for helping women achieve financial security in later life and for avoiding the financial hardships that so many women experience.
How does gender equality affect women in retirement? – Brookings Institution
Women and Retirement Savings – U.S. Department of Labor
The Latina Savings Project – WISER: Women’s Institite for a Secure Retirement
Women and Retirement: The Gender Gap Persists — National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare
Women’s Financial Security — Stanford Center on Longevity
A Woman’s Guide to Making the Most of Social Security – The New York Times
5 Things Every Woman Should Know About Social Security – Social Security Administration
Women’s Stake in Social Security – National Academy of Social Insurance
Dividing Retirement Benefits Upon Divorce – TexasLawHelp.org