March 2019: Celebrate Women’s History Month by Closing the Retirement Earnings Gap

By Marguerita Cheng, CFP® • CEO, Blue Ocean Global Wealth

Women work hard for their money — and research shows we are working harder than ever today.

In the 40 years between 1975 and 2015, the number of womenwith children under 18 who also participated in the workforce increased 23 percent, to 70 percent from 47 percent. During that same period, the number of women with college degrees increased 33 percent — to 41 percent from 14 percent. By 2015, women held 52 percent of all managerial and professional jobs.

Today, women make up 47 percent of the workforce in the United States, own close to 10 million businesses and were the sole or primary breadwinners for 40 percent of families with children under age 18.

Still, women haven’t closed the gap.

Yes, we’ve made enormous strides in the workplace. But when it comes time to retire, many women still do not have the savings they need. According to The National Institute on Retirement Security (NIRS), women of all age groups have substantially less income for retirement than men.

For women over 65, the income disparity can be as much as 25 percent. The study also found women are 80 percent more likely than men to be impoverished at age 65, while women between 75 and 79 are three times more likely than men to be living in poverty.

Though more and more women are starting to earn more than their significant others, the overall gender wage gap is still over 21 percent, with women earning only 78 percent of what men make. Women tend to spend fewer years in the labor force, often for lower pay, and they spend more years alone at the end of their lives.

Don’t be part of that trend! Know the facts and the statistics and find a financial planner that can help you close the retirement earnings gap.