Pension Rights Center: Publications | Reports

Reports on Women's Retirement Security

Retirement Security for Women: Progress to Date and Policies for Tomorrow (Retirement Security Project, April 2008). With half of all working women saving an estimated $34,000 in IRA or 401(k)-style saving accounts, as compared to an estimated $70,000 for men, the paper examines the available data on women and retirement and offers an array of policy solutions aimed at closing the saving gap between men and women.

From Work to Retirement: Tracking Changes in Women's Poverty Status (Institute for Women's Policy Research and AARP's Public Policy Institute, February 2008). This study examines the extent and possible causes of women's poverty as they move from midlife into their retirement years. The study traces how changes in women's major life course characteristics -- such as marital status, labor force status, and health status -- influence the risk of poverty as they move to pre-retirement, early retirement, and then to late retirement years.

Older Women's Income and Wealth Packages in Cross-National Perspective (Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, February 2008). In this report, we assess the economic well-being of elderly women in cross-national perspective, comparing the United States to four other rich countries: the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, and Sweden.

Women Face Challenges in Ensuring Financial Security in Retirement (Government Accountability Office, October 2007). 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 behavior 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.

Why Are Widows So Poor? (Boston College Center for Retirement Research, June 2007). Poverty rates for older non-married women remain very high. This brief investigates why this group of the population is particularly vulnerable.

Impact of Retirement Risk on Women (Society of Actuaries and Women’s Institute for a Secure Retirement, August 2006). This report uses the 2005 Risks and Process of Retirement Survey to measure differences and similarities in the retirement risks faced by men and women.

Earnings and Women’s Retirement Security (Boston College Center for Retirement Research, June 2006) This report examines the specific retirement security challenges women face.

Click the links below to read reports on the following topics: