AOL.com: “How the $139K Gap Between Men’s and Women’s Retirement Hits a Monthly Budget”
November 3, 2026, AOL — Today on AOL.com, reporter Chris Adams shares that the gender gap at work continues even when work itself does not.
He explains: “According to some of the latest research from ZipRecruiter, women face an especially difficult retirement savings crisis. The data showed women 60 years and older have a median of $60,000 saved. Men of the same age group have a median of $199,000 saved. In addition to that whopping $139,000 gender gap in savings, 28% of women 60 years and older have zero savings, compared to 16% of men in that age group.”
At a basic level, he says, the math for a typical retiree could show the $139,000 gap meaning a few hundred dollars each month less for a woman. It’s an amount that can easily hurt a monthly budget and mean the difference between having some money left over after essentials or barely making the rent and food bill.
For insight into why the numbers are less important than a retiree’s own overall money situation, Chris interviewed Marguerita Cheng, certified financial planner (CFP), CEO of Blue Ocean Global Wealth.
Cheng says that women are more likely than men to have breaks in employment for family caregiving responsibilities, and that women are also less likely to have access to employer-sponsored retirement plans. “Every woman, no matter her age, stage or relationship, deserves to be financially confident, empowered and secure,” she said. “We can’t address an issue if we don’t even know it exists.”