The Real Rules Of Retirement For Women (and Men Too!)

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month) – $143 above the official poverty level of older adults and almost $1,400 less than a minimum-wage income. The fact that so many elderly women rely on Social Security as their only source of income is one of the major reasons why so many elderly women are poor.
Private pensions --the second leg of the retirement stool can provide an important source of income to women. However, only 13 percent of women age 65 and over are currently receiving a pension, and among that small group the median annual pension income in 1994 was only $3,000. Although access to pensions for women working full-time has increased over the last 20 years to 48 % in 1993 from 33% in 1972, men are still more likely to actually receive pensions because industries and jobs with traditional pensions continue to be dominated by males.
The third leg of the stool--voluntary savings-- is increasingly being emphasized as a major source of retirement income. However, statistics indicate that voluntary savings ...

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A less known, but equally important, reason for the impoverishment of older women is their lack of adequate pension income.
The most significant factor in pension inequity for working women is their employment patterns. They are concentrated in low-wage, service, part-time, non-union, and small-firm jobs where pension coverage is less common. They change jobs frequently and they earn less than men. This makes it difficult for them to meet the requirements for pension benefits and often results in their receiving smaller benefits than men.

The Effects of Work Force Patterns:

Women are more likely to work part-time. In 1993, 10.7 million worked part-time, more than twice as many as men ...

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