Suchergebnisse

Intro -- WOMEN'S RETIREMENT SECURITY CHALLENGES AND TRENDS -- WOMEN'S RETIREMENT SECURITY CHALLENGES AND TRENDS -- CONTENTS -- PREFACE -- Chapter 1 RETIREMENT SECURITY: WOMEN STILL FACE CHALLENGES -- WHY GAO DID THIS STUDY -- WHAT GAO FOUND -- ABBREVIATIONS -- BACKGROUND -- Demographic and Labor Force Trends Affecting Women"s Retirement Income Security -- Sources of Retirement Income -- National Trends Affecting Retirement Security for Men and Women -- WORKING WOMEN"S ACCESS TO AND PARTICIPATION IN EMPLOYER-SPONSORED PENSION PLANS HAVE IMPROVED RELATIVE TO MEN -- Women Surpassed Men in Their Likelihood of Working for an Employer That Offers a Pension Plan -- Women Working for Employers Offering Plans Made Gains in Plan Eligibility -- The Gender Gap in Plan Participation Narrowed -- WHILE INCOME COMPOSITION CHANGED ONLY SLIGHTLY FOR WOMEN AGE 65 AND OVER, THEY CONTINUE TO HAVE LESS RETIREMENT INCOME THAN MEN -- The Composition of Income for Women and Men Age 65 and over Did Not Fluctuate Greatly Despite Changes in the Economy and Pension System -- Median Household Income for Women Age 65 and over Was 25 Percent Lower Than Men"s -- DIVORCE, WIDOWHOOD, AND UNEMPLOYMENT HAD A DETRIMENTAL EFFECT ON OLDER WOMEN"S INCOME SECURITY -- Became Divorced or Separated after Age 50 -- Became Widowed after Age 50 -- Became Unemployed after Age 50 -- Health Declined after Age 50 -- EXISTING POLICY OPTIONS COULD ADDRESS RETIREMENT SECURITY ISSUES FACING WOMEN -- Proposals to Expand the Use of Existing Tax Incentives to Save for Retirement -- Proposals to Expand Opportunities to Accumulate Social Security Credits -- Proposals to Expand Access to Retirement Savings and Strengthen Spousal Protections -- Proposals to Expand Opportunities for Saving Later in Life and Delay Social Security Benefit Receipt -- Proposals to Ensure Lifetime Income

Elderly individuals exhibit wide disparities in their sources of income. For those in the bottom half of the income distribution, Social Security is the most important source of support; program changes would directly affect their well-being. Income from private pensions, assets, and earnings are relatively more important for higher-income elderly individuals, who have more diverse income sources. The trend from private sector defined benefit to defined contribution pension plans has shifted responsibility for retirement security to individuals. A significant subset of the population is unlikely to be able to sustain their standard of living in retirement without higher pre-retirement saving.