Despite significant progress in women’s education, earnings, and employment, retirement planning remains imbalanced. This has been mainly because women continue to earn less than men on average throughout their careers. This lower income makes it difficult for women to save for retirement, which is compounded by the fact that women tend to live longer and have more caregiving duties than men.
Income
According to Brookings, average lifetime earnings are significantly less for women than men. This is primarily because women deal with most of the unpaid family caregiving, which can result in breaks in their careers or cause them to change to low-wage jobs so they can maintain flexibility. Studies have even shown that women with one child earn 28 percent less on average over their career than those who do not have kids, while each additional child reduces a women’s earnings by another three percent. While this wage differential varies based on the occupation, it is almost always to the women’s disadvantage.
Retirement
Unfortunately, these lower lifetime earnings can lead to much lower retirement wealth. In fact, women receive Social Security benefits that are, on average, 80 percent of those that men receive. While numerous factors contribute to this, one reason continues to be the wage gaps mentioned above.
When women have a child, it reduces their Social Security benefits, through reduced earnings, by an average of 16 percent, and each additional child by two percent. In addition, when women leave their careers to care for their families, they not only lose income but can lose an average of $131,000 in lifetime Social Security benefits.
Security
As a result, maintaining living standards in retirement can be a major problem women face, especially since they live longer than men. Among the 90 and older population, women outnumber men by nearly 3 to 1, with 13 percent of men and 30 percent of women living to the age of 90. However, this can lead to various issues for women since they are more likely to run out of retirement savings, especially since older women are more likely to be the surviving spouse and will have to live on less Social Security income and more than likely have to deal with their partner’s medical expenses. In addition, depending on the circumstances, a husband’s social security and retirement are usually more – and cut or reduced when the husband dies.
Get Help With Your Retirement Today. Contact Losavio & DeJean, LLC Today
Not only do women have several factors they are up against regarding retirement savings, but they may also have less confidence than men when talking about money. This can lead to missed opportunities regarding retirement savings and establishing long-term savings goals early on.
However, you do not have to lose out on these opportunities. If you are approaching retirement, or want to start planning for the future, working with an experienced attorney can help make sure your property and assets are managed property. For further information about how these attorneys can help, contact Losavio & DeJean, LLC today or call us at 844.431.5334 to review your situation and start personalizing your plan.