By Earlene Greene

Women are now retiring with only 70% of their male counterparts in savings

At least 25% of women have opted for alternative saving plans

For many women, retirement is no longer a reward, it’s a reckoning! As the retirement landscape continues to shift, a growing crisis is emerging—one that disproportionately affects women. Despite decades of participation in the workforce, women are retiring with just 70% of the savings their male counterparts. Consequently, women are 80% more likely to live in poverty during retirement. The harsh reality is that the golden years have turned grim – what should be a time of rest and comfort has become a struggle for financial survival.

Why This Matters: Over the course of a lifetime, the gender pay gap causes women to lose out on hundreds of thousands of dollars in earnings—funds that could have been saved for retirement. As a result, many women find themselves at a disadvantage when it comes to building the necessary nest egg for their future. “It is well documented that the nation faces a retirement savings crisis, but the pain is particularly severe for women because we need a bigger retirement nest egg than men thanks to our longer life expectancy,” says Diane Oakley, NIRS executive director and report co-author.

The situation is further exacerbated by employers who fail to match retirement contributions, leaving women with even fewer resources to secure their financial future. Compounding the issue, many women don’t have access to employer-sponsored retirement benefits in the first place, making it even harder for them to save. In fact, studies show that 25% of women are more likely to opt out of workplace retirement plans in favor of alternative saving methods, further limiting their ability to accumulate the savings needed to retire comfortably.

Situational Awareness: Women are facing a retirement crisis that could leave them struggling in their later years—lower savings, fewer retirement benefits, and a stubborn wage gap are stacking the odds against them. To turn this around, we need policies that help women save more, equal access to retirement plans, and stronger employer support to build the financial security they deserve.

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