Amy Matsui

National Women’s
Law Center
Women & Retirement Security
Barriers and Opportunities
Women &
Retirement
Security:
Barriers and
Opportunities
Women need more income
in retirement because
they…..
• Live longer
• Are more likely to be
single (and not remarry)
• Have higher health costs
as they age
 Women’s life expectancy
• A woman turning age 65 today can expect to live, on
average, until age 86.7 (two years longer than men).
SSA
• 2/3 of married women aged 65 will outlive their
husbands (by almost 12 years). TIAA-CREF
 Women’s health care costs
• Women age 63 and up are projected to spend 30% more
on health care in retirement than men. Health View
Services
• Women are more likely to have chronic illnesses and use
health care services than men. (Women are also more
likely to experience barriers to care, based on cost.) Kaiser
But women have less
retirement income
because they….
• Earn less than men
• Spend less time working
• Tend to be economically disadvantaged by
family structures, responsibilities, and norms
Women’s earnings
What Women Make for Every Dollar Paid to White, non-Hispanic Men
1
0.9
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
Women overall White-non Black women Latinas Asian women
Hispanic women

NWLC calculations based on Current Population Survey, 2018 Annual Social and Economic Supplement, Table PINC-
05, https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/income-poverty/cps-pinc/ pinc-05.html
Cumulative impact of the wage gap

A women who works full-time,

year-round will typically lose
$406,760 over a 40-year career due
to the wage gap.
NWLC
 Women’s work patterns
• Women make up 2/3 of the low-wage workforce
(jobs that typically pay $11.50/hr or less). NWLC
• Women are twice as likely as men to work part-time.
DOL
• “Future of work” and growth of
gig/freelance/independent contractor
 Family economics
• Married women, and women with young children,
are less likely to be in the workforce (married men
are more). BLS
• On average, women in the U.S. spend 4.5 hours/day
on unpaid work (men spend 2). OECD
Caregiving
• Women make up 60 percent of caregivers.
• Female caregivers work fewer hours per week (32.5) than
male caregivers (39.2/married and 34.3/unmarried).
• 61% of caregivers experienced at least one impact or
change to their employment (i.e. reduced hours, retired
early, etc.)
National Caregiver Alliance and AARP
Divorce
• Divorce substantially increases risk of decreased
standard of living in retirement. CRR
• Women are more likely to experience this decrease
than men.
• After a divorce or separation, household income decreased
by an average of 41% for women in or near retirement,
compared with a 23% drop for men. GAO
In sum, it’s Earn less than men

harder for
women to
Are more
Are more likely to be
economically
low-wage workers
impacted by divorce

save because
they
Are more likely to
Are more likely to be work part-time
caregivers
Women face barriers to
accumulating retirement income
and assets
• Social Security retirement benefits
• Defined benefit pensions
• Defined contribution pensions
Social Security
• Must work in a job covered by Social Security
• Need 10 years/40 credits of work to be eligible for
retirement benefits
• Benefits based on 35 highest years of earnings
• Benefits that fit women’s lives
• Stable, inflation-adjusted, lifetime benefits
• Spousal & survivor benefits
Women’s average Social Security
retirement benefits
Sex and Age
Average annual Social Share of family income Social Security accounts for a
Security Benefit from Social Security
larger share of family income
for women than men 65 and
Women 65 and
older $14,270
58%
older, but women’s average
Social Security benefit is less
Men 65 and
53% than men’s.
older $18,375
NWLC
Defined benefit pensions
• Benefit structure
• Lifetime benefits
• Spousal rights & benefits (including for divorced
spouses)
• Some drawbacks for women
• Benefit based on years of work + salary levels
• Vesting
• Fewer employers offer + pension funding issues
Defined contribution plans
• Some structural disadvantages for women
• Contributions taken out of salary
• Are tax incentives meaningful?
• Limited spousal rights
• What happens when employees change jobs
• Input determines output
• Issues at distribution: turning assets into income
Women’s participation in DC plans
• While women overall are more likely than men to
work for employers who offer retirement savings
plans, women are less likely to be eligible to
participate than men. NIRS
• Part-time work
• Latina and Black women are less likely than white
women to work for employers who offer retirement
plans. NIRS
IRAs & state retirement plans
• Rollover, worker and spousal IRAs
• Even more limited spousal rights
• RIP MYra
• State-based plans
Data on women’s retirement
savings
Median Retirement Balances for Employed Women Ages 21
to 64, 2014
$70,000
$60,000
$60,000
$50,000 $50,000
$50,000

$40,000

$30,000
$20,000 $21,750
$20,000

$10,000

$0
White, non-Hispanic White women Black women Latinas Asian women
men

Unpublished calculations from National Institute for Retirement Security using the U.S. Census Bureau's Survey of Income and Program Participation,
Wave 1 and SSA Supplement. Excludes retirement accounts with $0 balances.
The upshot
On average, women have 2/3 of men’s retirement
savings and benefits in DB and DC plans. Closing the
Women’s Wealth Gap
Context: women’s overall wealth
Median Wealth Among Women, Ages 18 to 64, 2007
$70,000

$60,000

$50,000
$43,800
$41,500
$40,000

$30,000

$20,000

$10,000
$100 $120
$0
White, non-Hispanic men White women Black women Latinas

Calculations from Mariko Chang, Lifting as We Climb, Figure 1. Data is for single women.
Wealth is defined as the total value of assets minus debts; this definition includes vehicles.
Poverty rates for older women

NWLC
Burgeoning issues for women’s
retirement security
• Gig economy/independent contractors
• Harmful “paid family leave” proposals
• Proposals to increase opportunities to withdraw
assets from tax-favored retirement savings
vehicles
Policies that could make a
difference for women’s
retirement security
• Increasing working women’s incomes
• Increasing access to savings vehicles & pensions
• Incentivizing & maximizing saving
• Recognizing patterns in women’s workforce participation
• Improving spousal benefits
Questions?
Amy Matsui
Director of Income Security
National Women’s Law Center
amatsui@nwlc.org
@nwlc