|
E-mail this page to a friend!
What retirement?
Women Worry About Having Little Gold in Their Golden
Years
Half expect to live final years in poverty, problem
worse for women of color
 May 13, 2005 – A survey released today says half of
American women worry they will live their final years in poverty and expect to
work past retirement age. The Heinz Family Philanthropies/Women's
Institute for a Secure Retirement (WISER) released the results from the
National Women's 2005 Retirement Survey, a comprehensive look at
challenges facing American women seeking to provide themselves a secure
retirement.
Key results of the survey include:
* 38% of women 30-55 years old are worried they
will live at or near the poverty level because they cannot adequately
save for retirement. The figure increases to 53% for women of color. For
men, 33% face the same dilemma;
* 52% of women expect to continue to work once
they reach retirement age, including 57% of Hispanic women;
* 54% of women have little to no money left to
save for retirement once they pay their bills, rising to 62% among
Hispanic women and 62% among African American women.
The survey, conducted by American Viewpoint and
Harrison & Goldberg, is based on interviews with 1700 adults and has a
margin of error of plus or minus 2.4 percent.
The Heinz Family Philanthropies, chaired by Teresa
Heinz founder of the Women's Institute for a Secure Retirement (WISER),
commissioned the survey along with the Christie foundation, the Barbara
Lee Foundation and others, to identify the critical retirement savings
issues facing women, particularly women of color, and to use the data to
develop ways to help secure their financial future.
Women, especially women of color, harbor great
concerns about retirement savings. When asked if the statement, "I
usually have little or no money to save for retirement," described them
"very well," "somewhat well," "not too well" or "not at all well," 54%
of all the women surveyed said it described them either "very" or
"somewhat well." Among women of color, the proportions were even more
significant with 62% of African-American and 62% of Hispanic women
saying the statement described them "very" or "somewhat well." More than
a third of African-American and Hispanic women said the statement
described them "very well."
Saving for retirement has been, and continues to
be, a problem for women. When asked, "at the present time do you feel
that you are saving enough money for your retirement," 62% of the women
surveyed answered "no." Among women of color, 74% of African-American
and Hispanic women said they were not saving enough. When asked why, 65%
of African-American and 60% of Hispanic women explained they just didn't
have enough money left after paying bills.
The Myth of Retirement
Retirement is a myth for the majority of women in
this country. When asked about whether they "expect to have to continue
to work once you reach the age at which you want to retire," more than
50% of women responded "yes," with 85% of these women stating they
expect to be working full-time or part-time. The number of Hispanic
women who anticipate working into retirement outweighs their African
American counterparts by 13%. The fixed incomes of these women will be
further compromised if health concerns preclude them from working during
their retirement years.
"This survey underscores our country's on-going,
and long-ignored retirement crisis, said Teresa Heinz, Chairman of the
Heinz Family Philanthropies. "The fact that many women do not have
enough money leftover after paying bills to save for retirement is no
longer just alarming, it is a national catastrophe. Retirement for many
women is simply an inaccessible dream. While women have entered the
labor force in record numbers, their ability to retire is simply not
predicated on access to a pension, it is also about other factors that
impede their ability to save. The costs of caring for aging parents, as
well as grandparents, adult children and grandchildren, combine to make
retirement a myth, not a reality. We must expand retirement planning
education to help women make informed choices about savings and
retirement planning."
The survey also revealed that many 30-55 year olds
believe they will live a less comfortable retirement than their parents.
More than 4 in 10 women sampled said their retirement would be less
comfortable than that of their parents.
Cindy Hounsell, Executive Director of WISER said,
"With so many women living on the financial edge, saving for retirement
is unlikely to become a priority. Unless women can participate in a
pension plan, we run the risk of significantly increasing poverty in old
age."
The Great Ethnic and Gender Divide
The survey demonstrates a clear economic divide
between the genders and races. Men are far more confident about their
financial stability into retirement than women, especially women of
color. For example, only 33% of men reported a fear of retiring at or
near the poverty level, while 38% of women cited this concern. Moreover,
Hispanic women were 20% more likely than men to anticipate retiring into
poverty.
Consistently, white women are the most likely to be
participating in a retirement savings option, while Hispanic women
participate in, and contribute, the least. When everyone was asked why
they did not usually contribute the maximum amount allowed into their
IRA accounts, women were most likely to answer, "because I can't afford
it," while men answered, "because I participate in other retirement
savings plans."
The survey also provided insight into the differing
financial concerns. Men and white women both said their "greatest
personal financial concern" was "saving for retirement," while Hispanic
women placed a higher level of anxiety on "affording college for [their]
children" and African American women were focused on "earning enough to
pay bills."
The Family Life Line
Although not a principle expense, providing for
extended family members negatively impacts the amount of funds available
for retirement investing. Hispanic women are twice as likely as white
women to be short of retirement investment funds because they are
helping support their elderly parents. Of the Hispanic women helping to
support their parents, 60% report spending between $100 and $1000 each
month on their parents' basic expenses like food, gas, rent, drug and
medical bills. In response to the statement "I'm not that worried about
saving for retirement because I know that my children will help me out"
Hispanic women are almost three times more likely than white women to
indicate that statement describes them "very" or "somewhat well" and
African American are twice as likely.
Similarly, African American women are more than
twice as likely as white women to cite "financial responsibility for
adult children or grandchildren" as a reason for not saving for
retirement. Of the African American women currently or expecting to
support their adult children or grandchildren, 63% report spending
between $100 and $1000 on them each month.
The National Women's Retirement Survey is part of a
continuing effort by the Heinz Foundation to explore, study and educate
all Americans, particularly women, on the complexities of pensions and
the importance of saving for retirement. An extension of the work
started by the late Senator John Heinz, the Foundation has held
educational forums on retirement related issues across the United
States. In 1996, the Foundation launched WISER to begin to educate women
about the importance of savings and retirement security.
"The polling data underscores America's unspoken
crisis: many women of color will never be able to retire. The financial
demands of the present constrain the ability of women to save for the
future. For women of color, it is not simply about saving for
retirement, it's about surviving financially until retirement," said
Jeffrey Lewis, President of the Heinz Family Philanthropies. "Too many
women, women of color in particular, will find themselves about to enter
financial prison when they retire. We need to confront the real crisis
facing American women today. They have no financial safety net. By
failing to recognize the need for a national retirement policy, Congress
continues to sanction poverty in old age as a way of life."
The Women's Institute for a Secure Retirement
(WISER) works to increase awareness of the structural barriers that
prevent women's adequate participation in the nation's retirement
systems. Created in 1996 by Teresa Heinz, Chairman of the Heinz Family
Philanthropies, its goal is to improve the long-term economic security
of millions of American women and men. WISER is a 501(C)3 organization.
Source: Heinz Family Philanthropies
Click to More Senior News on the
Front Page
Copyright: SeniorJournal.com |
