Economic Influences - Question 39

What is the “retirement gender gap?”

Very simply, women outlive men, and need their retirement assets to sustain them for six years longer. That’s the “retirement gender gap.”

According to KPMG Peat Marwick, women over age 25 are employed an average of 4.8 years for every 6.6 years that men work. Frequently, full vesting in corporate pension plans requires five years of continuous employment. Since women tend to earn 63% of the salary of a male colleague, and receive fewer pension benefits, they will be forced to save a greater portion of their incomes in order to have the same standard of living as men do when they retire.