Lack of economic gender equality continues to affect women in retirement

Many studies on economic gender equality focus on the working-age population, but fewer consider the economic status of women in retirement. Brookings experts explore the resources available to women in retirement, given that on average women both live longer and earn less in their lifetime than men. On top of receiving unequal pay for similar work, women are also more likely to see reduced earnings due to time out of the formal labor force while caring for children and/or for aging parents. Lower earnings over a lifetime have implications for retirement savings, but also for calculating Social Security benefits (on average, women receive just 80 percent of the Social Security benefits that men do). Citing that the current retirement system was “not designed to accommodate women’s experiences,” authors suggest policies and practices to address these inequalities including: an improved federal paid family and medical leave program, subsidizing childcare, creating a Social Security caregiver credit as part of benefit calculations, divorce law reform, a nationwide and automatic IRA program so that all workers can access a retirement program through their employer, and bolstering Supplemental Security Income benefits. #workforce #childcare