Women's Retirement Security Fact Sheet

The American Association of University Women’s fact sheet outlines retirement security issues for women and the policy approaches needed to address them. The lifelong effects of the gender pay gap and wealth gap become more obvious when reaching retirement age. Policy changes can improve economic security earlier and reinforce systems like Social Security and Medicare.

“Continuing pay inequity results in women having less savings, lower Social Security benefits, and lower (if any) pension benefits, leaving them on an unequal retirement footing. Women have only 70% of the overall retirement income and only 32% of the wealth that men do. At the same time, women typically live longer than men, meaning they will face higher costs in retirement—both in terms of daily living expenses and health care costs.”

For a shorter version of this resource, please see the American Associations of University Women’s policy recommendations.