OLDER WOMEN FACE AMPLIFIED RETIREMENT PROBLEMS

JONATHAN PETERSON, LA TIMES - To a degree, the retirement security of
women is jeopardized by the same trends affecting men, such as cutbacks
in corporate pensions. But experts say the threat to women is amplified
by a confluence of factors, including:

- Higher overall rates of divorce and singlehood. Record numbers of
women are heading toward later life without the backup of a partner's
savings and income. Unmarried, older women have higher poverty rates
than their male counterparts and much higher poverty rates than married
women, government data show.

- Interrupted working years. Although baby boom women generally have
more education and work skills than their mothers, many quit jobs or
work part time to care for children or ailing relatives. Such efforts
may be cherished by family members, but they slash retirement benefits.

- Long lives. At age 65, women are expected to live an average of three
years longer than men. This greater longevity magnifies several risks to
retirement security, including raising the danger that a woman will
outlast her savings or incur costly medical bills without help from a
spouse.

In addition to these factors, women overall still earn less than men and
have less in the way of retirement benefits for old age.

"The bottom line is that women are subject to a double whammy: They need
more but have less," said Alicia H. Munnell, director of the Center for
Retirement Research at Boston College and a former member of the White
House Council of Economic Advisors. "This problem is widespread - even
many baby boom women with college degrees face the same issues. "

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-women28dec28,0,7446902.story?
coll=la-home-headlines

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