Retirement & Social Security
 |
About
ResourcesPublicationsMultimedia |
|---|
About Retirement & Social Security
IWPR is a leading national resource on women’s income security—especially the economic security of women in retirement and the possible effects of Social Security changes on women.
Research from IWPR has shown the current Social Security program is a mainstay for women, and these findings have been supported by research from other organizations. Women are more likely to rely on Social Security because they have fewer alternative sources of income, often outlive their husbands, and are more likely to be left to rear children when their husbands die or become disabled. Moreover, due to the recession, many women have lost home equity and savings to failing markets, leaving them more economically vulnerable and dependent on Social Security benefits. Adult women are 51 percent (28 million) of all beneficiaries, including retirees, the disabled, and survivors of deceased or disabled workers. IWPR’s research shows that women aged 65 and over receive two-thirds of their income from Social Security on average. In 2009, 29 percent of older women lived on Social Security alone and the program lifted more than 14 million women and men aged 65 or older out of poverty.
In 2009, 29 percent of older women lived on Social Security alone and the program lifted more than 14 million women and men aged 65 or older out of poverty.
A 2010 survey developed by IWPR, with funding from the Rockefeller Foundation, found that many Americans, especially women, felt bleak about their prospects for retirement security in the aftermath of the Great Recession. Almost half (47 percent) of all women surveyed said they had little or no confidence that their resources would last throughout their retirement years, compared with 35 percent of men. Only 25 percent of women and 35 percent of men believed they were saving enough for retirement. Especially in the recent economic crisis and slow recovery, American women and men value the support Social Security provides–to such a great extent that they do not mind paying taxes so that the program can continue to help secure the economic stability of retired persons, the disabled, and families of deceased workers.
In addition, IWPR has been working on collaborative projects to educate and mobilize women’s organizations to safeguard and strengthen the Social Security system. Working with the National Organization for Women (NOW) as co-leaders of the National Council of Women’s Organizations’ Task Force on Older Women’s Economic Security (OWES), IWPR strives to increase the participation of women’s groups in the political debate about Social Security and to disseminate accurate information about the system’s future. In May 2012, IWPR, the NOW Foundation, and the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare released a report outlining recommendations for affordably modernizing Social Security, such as extending benefits to same-sex couples and increasing benefits for widows.
Resources
Social Security Media Watch Project Blog
Social Security and the Changing Economic Role of Women --PowerPoint Presentation
Visit our external resources page for links to more information on this topic.
To see our experts on this and other initiatives, click here.
Latest Reports from IWPR
| Preview not available |
Breaking the Social Security Glass Ceiling: A Proposal to Modernize Women's Benefits This report examines the valuable role women play as caregivers to both their children and to their aging parents. It looks at the impact of widowhood, and the difference in life expectancy between men and women and how that affects a growing number of older women --espeically those over age 86-- who are living below the poverty line. And it examines the special role that Social Security plays in meeting the income security needs of women from communities of color.
|
|
|
|
Importance of Social Security by Gender, Race/Ethnicity, and Marital Status, 2010
|
|
|
|
Can Boomer Women Afford to Retire?
|
|
|
|
Talking Points on Retirement and Social Security Talking Points on Retirement and Social Security
|
|
|
|
The Impact of the Great Recession on Older Women and Men
|
|
|
|
Retirement on the Edge: Women, Men, and Economic Insecurity After the Great Recession The IWPR/Rockefeller Survey addressed the extent of economic security almost a year and a half after the recession officially ended. Many of the survey’s findings are detailed in the report, Women and Men Living On the Edge: Economic Insecurity After the Great Recession (Hayes and Hartmann 2011). This report analyzes a specific aspect of the IWPR/Rockefeller Survey’s findings: issues related to retirement security following the recession. It finds that men and women after the Great Recession experience uncertainty about the adequacy of their financial resources for the proverbial “golden years,” an uncertainty that may shape how they view the meaning of retirement and their own decisions about the future.
|
D500, Report, 68 pages
$10.00
|
|
|
Most Americans Think the Growth of Social Security Spending Should Not Be Cut to Reduce the Deficit
|
|
|
|
Pension Crediting for Caregivers: Policies in Finland, France, Germany, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Japan
|
#D497, Report, 48 pages
$15.00
|
|
|
Six Key Facts on Women and Social Security
|
|
|
|
Social Security and Black Women
|
|
|
|
Latinas and Social Security Social Security is a crucial source of income for many Americans. This is particularly true for women and people of color, who tend to have fewer alternative sources of income, experience higher poverty rates, and earn less on average throughout their working years (Hartmann, Hayes, and Drago 2011).
|
|
|
|
Figures Excerpted from the Report, Social Security Especially Vital to Women and People of Color, Men Increasingly Reliant
|
|
|
|
Social Security: Especially Vital to Women and People of Color, Men Increasingly Reliant Social Security is the bedrock of retirement income for older Americans. IWPR analysis of the 2010 Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement (ASEC) shows that Social Security remains the largest source of income for older Americans.
|
#D494, Report, 22 pages,
$10.00
|
|
|
Women’s Economic Security in the Labor Market and in Retirement
|
|
|
|
The Importance of Social Security Benefits to Women
|
|
|
|
Who Are Social Security Beneficiaries? (Updated)
|
|
|
|
Social Security: Vital to Retirement Security for 35 Million Women and Men
|
#D487, Briefing Paper, 10 pages
$5.00
|
|
|
Women and Social Security: Benefit Types and Eligibility
|
#D488, Briefing Paper, 9 pages
$5.00
|
|
|
Women and Entitlements
|
|
|
|
Why Americans Worry About Retirement Security, and Why Women Worry More Than Men This summary excerpts findings from a report by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, Women at Greater Risk of Economic Insecurity: A Gender Analysis of the Rockefeller Foundation's American Worker Survey. It draws out survey results that show how insecure Americans feel about their retirement income and why women are more anxious than men.
|
|
