OLDER WOMEN AND POVERTY
"We must maintain universality and fairness...When we judge any plan to save Social
Security we need to ask whether it cuts the poverty rate among single elderly women and
other groups in our society that are still at risk."
- President William Jefferson Clinton
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Women represent 58 percent of all Social Security recipients at age 65, and by
age 85, 71 percent of recipients are women.1 Social Security provides 90 percent
of income for 46 percent of elderly, unmarried women in 2004; 25 percent have
no other source of income.2
The poverty rate for all elderly women is 12.5 percent. 3 However, for widows
(18.6 percent), divorced (22 percent) and never married (20 percent) it is much
higher.4 5 Older women of color are the poorest in retirement: 27.4% of African
American and 21.7% of Hispanic women living alone are below the poverty line.
6
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1
Women live an average of 5.2 years longer than men.7 Fifty-nine percent of
women over age 65 are single, either widowed (44.3 percent), divorced or
separated (8.6 percent), or never married (3.7 percent). Most women marry men
older than themselves who die at younger ages. Women are therefore three times
more likely than men to be widowed, and at age 85, 78.3% are widowed.8
Because they live longer, women become increasingly dependent on Social
Security as they age.
Social Security Administration (2007).Social Security Information for Women.
http://www.ssa.gov/women/
2
Social Security Administration (2006, June). Press Office: Social Security Is Important to Women.
Washington, DC: Author. http://www.ssa.gov/pressoffice/factsheets/women.htm
3
U.S. Census Bureau (2005, December). 65+ in the United States: 2005 (Current Population Reports,
Special Studies). http://www.census.gov/prod/2006pubs/p23-209.pdf
4
University of Michigan Retirement Research Center (2003 May). The Economic Status of Elderly
Divorced Women. http://www.mrrc.isr.umich.edu/publications/papers
5
Sevak, Purvi, David R. Weir, and Robert J. Willis. 2003. The Economic Consequences of a Husband’s
Death: Evidence from the HRS and AHEAD, Social Security Bulletin, 65(3): 31-44.
http://www.ssa.gov/policy/research.html
6
U.S. Census Bureau (2005, December). 65+ in the United States: 2005 (Current Population Reports,
Special Studies). http://www.census.gov/prod/2006pubs/p23-209.pdf
7
CDC: "Deaths: Preliminary Data for 2004." News release, CDC.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/pubs/pubd/hestats/prelimdeaths04/preliminarydeaths04.htm.
8
U.S. Census Bureau (2005, December). 65+ in the United States: 2005 (Current Population Reports,
Special Studies). http://www.census.gov/prod/2006pubs/p23-209.pdf
OWL | 3300 N. FAIRFAX DRIVE, SUITE 218 | ARLINGTON, VA 22201
TELEPHONE: 703/812-7990 X20 | FAX: 703/812-0687 |
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9
In 2000, women 65 and over paid an average of 20 percent of their incomes on
out-of-pocket medical expenses.9 Medicare does not cover most home and
supportive care, or prescription drugs. Additionally, high co-payments and
deductibles have a disproportionate impact on women. Women have more chronic
illness and require more access to specialists, leading edge medicine and
technology.
Women spend an average of 12 years out of the workforce, caregiving for
children or elderly parents.10 11 As a result of their caregiving patterns, most
women work in lifetime low-wage jobs that give them the flexibility to move in
and out of the workforce. The fastest growing segment of the population is those
85 and older, and many midlife women today find themselves part of a
"sandwich" generation, caring for children, mothers and grandmothers.
Three out of five women today work in sales, clerical and retail jobs. Service,
part-time and contingent jobs are low-waged and rarely provide the benefits, such
as pensions, women require to ensure a secure retirement. In 2004, women made
an average of $512 per week in sales and office jobs. The largest discrepancy in
median weekly earnings between men and women was for the 45-54 year old
population, a difference of $232 a week. 12
In 2005, only 28.5 percent of all women aged 65 and older received a pension.
Most pension plans vest after five years, women average a job change every 3.5
years.13 In 2002, half of all older women received less than $5,600 per year from a
private pension, compared with $10,340 for older men. 61 % of working women
today do not have pension plans, while 76 % of women who are now retired
receive no pension benefits.14
U.S. Census Bureau (2005, December). 65+ in the United States: 2005 (Current Population Reports,
Special Studies). http://www.census.gov/prod/2006pubs/p23-209.pdf
10
Social Security Administration. (2002, February). Women and Social Security (Fact Sheet). Washington,
DC: Author. http://www.caregiver.org/caregiver/jsp/content_node.jsp?nodeid=892
11
Pepper Institute on Aging and Public Policy (2007, February). Facts on Aging: Family Caregiving.
http://www.pepperinstitute.org/Facts/
12
Bureau of Labor Statistics (2005, November). Women’s Earnings by Occupation in 2004.
http://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2005/oct/wk5/art04.htm
13
U.S. Department of Labor: Women’s Bureau (2005). Quick Facts on Older Workers, ages 55 and over.
https://www.dol.gov/wb/factsheets/Qf-olderworkers55.htm
14
National Organization for Women (2005, March). Talking Points about Women, Social Security and
Privatization. http://www.now.org/issues/economic/social/030405points.html
OWL | 3300 N. FAIRFAX DRIVE, SUITE 218 | ARLINGTON, VA 22201
TELEPHONE: 703/812-7990 X20 | FAX: 703/812-0687 |
WWW.OWL-NATIONAL.ORG