Women often older but poorer

By KORKY VANN
HARTFORD COURANT
If you want to live a long life, being a woman increases your chances. In the United States, women live nearly six years longer than men and account for nearly 60 percent of the population over 65.
That's the good news for women.
The bad news is that reaching old age can also mean outliving your savings. According to research from the International Longevity Center-USA, an aging-issues think tank, and the AARP Foundation, women over 65 are twice as likely to be poor as men over 65.
"Unjust Desserts: the Financial Realities of Older Women," a new consumer-oriented publication based on the studies, explains the reasons for the dire financial situation facing many older women and provides retirement planning tips for women of all ages.
"Medical and economic advances as well as social programs have solved many problems, but the poverty of older women has not lessened," said Dr. Robert N. Butler, president and CEO of the center. "They make up a full 70 percent of all older people who are poor."
Here's why
A number of factors contribute to the financial difficulties older women often face, including:
Women earn less than men. As of 2000, the median earnings of women who worked full time was $28,823. Men earned $39,020.
Women are more likely to work as unpaid family caregivers.
Older women are often dependent on a husband's retirement income, but many pensions decrease in value or are eliminated when the husband dies. Women are only half as likely as men to have private pensions, and their pensions are only half as large.
The booklet lists phone numbers, Web sites and other information sources as well as practical steps women can take when planning for retirement.
The report also recommends changes in public policy, such as initiating retirement credits for unpaid work such as caregiving. For a free copy, call (212) 606-3383, or visit www.ilcusa.org.
"The economic plight of older women is at a critical stage the world over and warrants rigorous research and potent policy alternatives," Charlotte Muller, co-director of research for International Longevity, said when the report was released.
Financial problems in later life are a major issue for women 50 and older. According to a survey released last winter by the National Center on Women and Aging at Brandeis University, 86 percent of those polled said eliminating poverty among older women is a key concern.
Finding help
To help, many organizations and government agencies have developed programs to assist older women. Social Security, the single most important financial resource for older women in the United States, offers a Web site just for women.
Social Security Online for Women (www.ssa.gov/women) provides information on issues ranging from retirement, survivors and disability benefits to Supplemental Security Income and other topics pertinent to women.
All workers -- men and women -- are treated the same by the Social Security program. But because of different life experiences, the results are very different.
Women make up more than half of all Social Security recipients, and for many, those benefits are their only income. Each life circumstance, including widowhood, divorce or remarriage, presents its own set of rules within the Social Security system.
The Web site provides information on all, as well as links to other federal agency Web sites and updates on the latest changes in the program.
Maneuvering the economic and legal systems can be a challenge for older women who often have never dealt with lawyers, courts or financial matters when husbands were around.
To provide older women with clear and easy-to-understand information on such issues as age-related job discrimination, retirement and divorce, the Connecticut Women's Education and Legal Fund developed "The Legal Rights of Older Women."
The booklet outlines federal and state employment and age-discrimination laws; Connecticut family law issues, such as divorce and asset distribution; and retirement concerns, including Social Security, pensions, wills and trusts.
For a free copy, call the fund's information and referral line at (860) 524-0601. The line is staffed Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.