The risk of running out of money in retirement rises for those with lower pay, longer lives or no partner. Millions of single women wrestle with all three.
Consider these facts.
- Women earn less than men on average during their working years and are more than twice as likely as men to leave the workforce for more than one year to care for children or aging parents.
- This shortfall compounds in retirement. Social Security checks are 20% smaller for women who first claim at 62 to 64 years of age, compared with men the same age.
- Single women, in particular, have smaller 401(k) and IRA nest eggs. On average, single women between 55 and 64 have about $88,600 in retirement savings, compared with $136,685 for single men and $423,800 for married couples in the same age group.
- Women also tend to live longer, raising the projected total cost of retirement as they have to stretch their smaller savings over more years.
As a society, we need to develop new programs to address this inequity whether it be more of a social infrastructure for shared living in homes or ways to compensate family caregivers. If you want to read more about this, here’s a recent Op-Ed by Peter Coy of the New York Times.
-Chip
PS – So excited to announce that I was a guest on the Making Space podcast, hosted by the amazing Hoda Kotb from the Today Show! To hear the full conversation now, just search for MAKING SPACE wherever you get your podcasts or click here. It was truly an honor to be featured on the show and to share some personal reflections. I have to say, there’s something really magical about getting the chance to connect and share with someone as inspiring as Hoda.
