The Gender Gap in Pension Coverage Older women enter retirement with fewer economic resources than men. Overall, there is a substantial gender gap in all sources of retirement income including pensions, savings and earnings from post-retirement employment. The difference in income from pensions is especially pronounced. Among seniors, women are only about two-thirds as likely to receive income from pensions compared to men. In 2005, 44 percent of men received a pension payment compared with 29 percent of women. Among those who received income from pensions, women's benefits were only about 60 percent of benefits received by men. In 2005, the average pension benefit for a woman was $10,866 compared to $16,933 for her male counterpart. Participation in a retirement plan is an essential step in ensuring adequate financial resources for retirement. Retirees' receipt of pension income significantly affects their ability to maintain a standard of living similar to that of their pre-retirement years. This is particularly true for women, who enter their retirement years with fewer resources and with longer life expectancies... Read the report Progressive Price Indexing and Social Security Benefits In January 2008, the first members of the baby boom generation became eligible to collect Social Security retirement benefits. This milestone marks the beginning of a process that will stretch out over the next two decades, as millions of post-WWII workers move through retirement. The commencement of this process has generated intense debate concerning the long-term future of the Social Security program... Read the report |