Women have traditionally, especially when married, left the finances and the financial decisions to the men. Then guess what? The men die earlier, or leave the woman for someone younger, or women generally don't have an interest in finances, even their own, until it's too late.
I came across this article by Elizabeth
Lewin, Friendly Exchange Magazine, Fall 1998, that I think bears repeating. I
have below repeated only a small portion.
"Women Face a Tougher Battle"
". . . Women
face numerous obstacles in their retirement planning, and many find that when the time comes to retire, they aren't
prepared financially.
"According to the Administration on Aging, the percentage of women over 65 living in poverty is twice that of men (13.6 % vs.
6.8 %). Not a pretty picture.
"Third Millennium, a national organization of people in their 20's and 30's focusing on long-term national problems recently held a symposium in Washington D.C., titled, 'Avoiding an Old Age Crisis in the 21st Century: A Dialogue on Women and Retirement Issues.'
"The group's director of development and events, Jennifer Loukissas, cited several reasons why women need to be converned about planning for retirement.
"Women live an average of seven years
longer than men. Longevity requires a larger nest egg. "Over the course of their lifetime, women are most likely than men to work part time, which provides neither pension benefits nor discretionary income to invest. "Women often leave the workforce to raise a family or take care of a sick husband or elderly parent. They spend 17 years on average in the workforce compared to 38 years for men. Those "missing years" rob them of the opportunity to contribute to a 401k plan or an IRA. "Women have fewer pension benefits, frequently working for companies that have no retirement program at all. Thirteen percent of women over 65 receive a private pension, compared to 33 percent of men, and those who do receive one get half as much. Private pensions average $3,940 for women and $7,468 for men. "Women earn about 30% less than men (72 cents for every $1.) which means that Social Security benefits will be less. Why? Benefits are based on three factors:
number of years worked, age at retirement, and total earnings."Christopher Hayes, director of the National Center for Women and Retirement Research (NCWRR) at Long Island University, says, 'Female baby boomers will have to remain in the workforce until age 74 because of inadequate financial savings and pension coverage. Fifty-eight percent of them have less than $10,000 in
