Enhancing women's retirement security : hearing before the Special Committee on Aging, United States Senate, One Hundred Twelfth Congress, second session, Washington, DC, July 25, 2012.

" Elderly women, who comprise a growing portion of the U.S. population, have historically been at greater risk of living in poverty than elderly men. Several factors contribute to the higher rate of poverty among elderly women including their tendency to have lower lifetime earnings, take time out of the workforce to care for family members, and outlive their spouses. Other factors could affect older women's financial insecurity. These include the economic downturn and changing trends in pension plan offerings. In light of these circumstances, GAO was asked to examine (1) how women's access to and participation in employer-sponsored retirement plans compare to men's and how they have changed over time, (2) how women's retirement income compares to men's and how the composition of their income-the proportion of income coming from different sources-changed with economic conditions and trends in pension design, (3) how later-in-life events affect women's retirement income security, and (4) what policy options are available to help increase women's retirement income security. To answer these questions, GAO analyzed data from two nationally representative surveys, conducted a broad literature review, and interviewed a range of experts in the area of retirement security. GAO is making no recommendations. GAO received technical comments on a draft of this report from the Department of Labor, the Department of the Treasury and the Social Security"

Elderly women, who comprise a growing portion of the U.S. population, have historically been at greater risk of living in poverty than elderly men. Several factors contribute to the higher rate of poverty among elderly women including their tendency to have lower lifetime earnings, their taking time out of the workforce to care for family members, and outliving their spouses. Other factors affecting older women's financial insecurity include the economic downturn and changing trends in pension plan offerings. This book examines how women's access to and participation in employer-sponsored retirement plans compare to men's and how they have changed over time; how women's retirement income compares to men's and how the composition of their income the proportion of income coming from different sources - has changed with the economic conditions and trends in pension design; and what policy options are available to help increase women's retirement income security.

This book focuses on women and retirement. Women aged 65 and over will account for a growing segment of the U.S. population over the next several decades. Despite increases in women's workforce behaviour in the past 65 years, elderly women have persistently high rates of poverty. Thus, it is important to understand the differences between men's and women's retirement income, and how women may fare given future reforms to Social Security and pensions. Preparing for retirement and achieving financial security are daunting tasks for all Americans to be sure; however, women face many unique challenges. Women still perform the primary caretaker role in our society. As a result, many women spend significant periods of time out of the workforce raising children or taking care of elderly parents, significantly diluting their earning power. Women are also more likely to work part-time or work in industries where employers are less likely to offer retirement benefits. And women generally earn less than men. In 2004, women earned 77 cents for every dollar earned by men. All of these factors have a significant impact on what women receive from Social Security and pension, as well as what they are able to accumulate through personal savings. This income gap is further exacerbated by the fact that women generally live longer than men, and therefore, need to stretch their income over a longer period of time. This book consists of public domain documents which have been located, gathered, combined, reformatted, and enhanced with a subject index, selectively edited and bound to provide easy access.