Women's retirement prospects increasingly grim: study
A significant number of women seem to be adopting a precarious retirement planning strategy.
According to a recent survey conducted by the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies nearly half of women expect to keep working past age 70. What’s worse, nearly one in five of those quizzed admit that they actually have no plan to retire whatsoever.
That’s great, assuming you can hang on to a job that long. But how many of us actually end up doing that?
Not as many as you might think.
Today’s workers may presume they’ll work longer before retiring, but data from the Employee Benefit Research Institute suggests otherwise.
While only 28% of those looking at retirement today say they expect to retire before age 65, the recent evidence is that close to two thirds of today’s retirees actually stopped working well before then.
What’s more, while one third of today’s pre-retirees say they want to keep working until at least age 70, history shows that less than 10% have actually stayed on the job that long.
Some of these, of course, were simply able to leave work much earlier than planned. But others dropped out of the workforce thanks to layoffs, disability, illness or – and this is particularly true for women – to take care an ailing family member.
The bottom line: Don’t base your retirement plan on circumstances that are largely out of your hands.
Are you, or the women you know, planning on working forever? As a women, what are you doing to improve the odds?
By Gordon Powers, MSN Money
Posted by: all of the above | Sep 8, 2021 11:15:04 PM
yes , all off you have a valid point that is considered the weakest link of all.
lets reflect a momment , look @ the past , we were all told a least once , one time in our younger years by our elderly or mentors that earn a dollar & only spend .40 , point well taken.
the one thing that is missing in all of this theory is we were mot taught 101 savings in high school , they rather i have taught us social studies that no one needed in the later parts of our lives.
and still we are teaching social studies rather that 101 savings in our schools , we are all to blame for our misfortunes , i was the lucky one , my parents taught me the value of the dollar , as they were the working class , we are ok and will be ok going forward , please if you value your children , don't spoil them and buy them your love , teach them the value of the dollar.
i am sorry , but the world is full off GREED , WE NEED TO GET BACK TO THE BASIC'S OF LIFE THAT WE ONCE KNEW !
Posted by: Women Deserve More | Sep 9, 2021 9:46:33 AM
I am a man not looking for Kudos. There is no doubt in my mind that a woman's life is more difficult than our gender. In terms of salary, they earn less than men which prevents them from saving more at retirement. Even CPP will be less if they don't reach maximum earning years to qualify. In our family, we budget to put aside 12% of our earnings toward our pension. We make certain that 7% is toward my wife's pension to offset the lower amount of CPP she will get in the future since she doesn't earn enough to max it. Women need to be more educated and involved in this topic.
The pension from the government won't get any better. I studied Politics/Finances in University. Our tax system was based on the premise that people got married and stayed together forever. Since our divorce rate is approaching 50%, that adds an extra burden to all these Divorced-Taxpayers because you now pay for 2 households/apartments with associated costs instead of just one. Now add child support and it gets difficult I'm sure. It is much harder for single-mothers to plan for retirement.
Posted by: a woman... | Sep 9, 2021 10:44:02 AM
To "Women deserve More"...I couldn't agree with you more. However, since our society IS based on the premise that "marriage is forever"...why not think harder before walking down the aisle?? If you plan NOT to get married, that's o.k. However, be ready to have to work harder. I highly doubt that our system, that has been based on "marriage is forever" for over a century now, is going to change alot soon. That is why I originally said, for women, get married (yes, love him), and STAY married and think hard before leaving. (For example: Do you really have it that bad IN the marriage? Ask yourself honestly.) However, if you leave, the finances are going to take a big hit. Are you fine with that?
Posted by: bonbon | Sep 11, 2021 4:17:28 PM
I GO TO WORKED AND SLEEP LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE. THINGS ARE GOING TO CHANGE EVERYDAY. FOOD AND LIVING COST ARE GOING UP. I DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPEN MY FUTURE AND MY PENSION PLAN. I FOLLOW THE SOCIETY AND WORK UNTIL DIED AND NO RETIREMENT BECAUSE OF THAT. WHAT WOULD NEW FOR NEXT GENERATION ? IS NEXT THE GENERATION ARE BETTER I DOUBT?
Posted by: Sammy | Sep 11, 2021 4:35:48 PM
I worked in manufacturing on the factory floor for most of my llife- am 63 and I do know how very hard a lot of women labour for their $-- our pension is currently in our own hands as an investment which if we take out of the unions choice of investment we loose about 5% and if we leave it in we watch it shrink
Posted by: Steve | Sep 11, 2021 6:03:27 PM
The article closes on "The bottom line: Don’t base your retirement plan on circumstances that are largely out of your hands". As our elected officials have, over the years decided that 'the future taxpayer' would be responsible for many massive government pensions. That being the case, how exactly does one ensure that one's retirement circumstances are within our hands? The future looks set for Stag-flation, the property bubble has yet to truly pop and everyone is aware of what happened in Germany many years ago to people who held gold as a nest egg. I could be wrong but it doesn't look good for women, or those people who happen to be the sons, spouses or fathers of women.
Posted by: shaking my head | Sep 11, 2021 11:33:56 PM
Incredible, after reading these comments, to discover how many people in this country are illiterate. Also, many seem to have personal political agendas, or nasty attitudes in general. sigh...